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of  the 

University  of  California 

Los  Angeles 


Form  L  I 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


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liOS  AJ4GEUES,  Cflb. 


THE  DWELLERS  IN 
FIVE-SISTERS   COURT. 


iff 


BY 


H.  E.  SCUDDER. 


NEW   YORK: 

PUBLISHED  BY  KURD  AND  HOUGHTON. 
Cambridge:  £t) 

1876. 


COPYRIGHT, 

By  II.  E.  SCUDDER. 

1876. 


RIVERSIDE,    CAMBRIDGE  : 

STEREOTYPED    AND    POINTED    BY 

II.   0.   HOUdHTON  AND   COMPANY. 


THE 


DWELLERS  IN  FIVE-SISTERS  COURT. 


CHAPTER  I. 

FOR  a  business  street  Amory  Lane  certainly  is  very 
lazy.  It  sets  out  just  to  make  a  short  passage  between 
two  thoroughfares,  but,  though  forced  at  first  to  walk 
straight  by  the  warehouses  that  wall  in  its  entrance,  it 
soon  begins  to  loiter,  staring  down  back  alleys,  yawn 
ing  into  courts,  plunging  into  stable-yards,  and  at 
length  standing  irresolute  at  three  ways  of  getting  to 
the  end  of  its  journey.  It  passes  by  artisans'  shops, 
and  keeps  two  or  three  masons'  cellars  and  carpenters' 
lofts,  as  if  its  slovenly  buildings  needed  perpetual  re 
pair.  It  has  not  at  all  the  air  of  once  knowing  better 
days.  It  began  life  hopelessly  ;  and  though  the  mayor 
and  common  council  and  board  of  aldermen,  with  tea 
righteous  men,  should  daily  march  through  it,  the  broom 
of  official  and  private  virtue  could  not  sweep  it  clean 
of  its  slovenliness.  But  one  of  its  idle  turnings  does 
end  in  a  virtuous  court ;  here  Amory  Lane  may  come, 
when  it  indulges  in  vain  aspirations  for  a  more  respect 
able  character,  and  take  refuge  in  the  quiet  demeanor 
of  Amory  Court.  The  court  is  shaped  like  the  letter 
T  with  an  L  to  it.  The  upright  beam  connects  it  with 
Amory  Lane,  and  maintains  a  non-committal  character, 


4  THE  DWELLERS  7j 

since  its  sides  are  blank  walls ;  upon  one  side  of  the 
cross-beam  are  four  houses,  while  a  fifth  occupies  the 
diminutive  L  of  the  court,  ensconcing  itself  in  a  snug 
corner,  as  if  ready  to  rush  out  at  the  cry  of  "  All  in  ! 
all  in  ! "  Gardens  fill  the  unoccupied  sides,  toy -gar 
dens,  but  large  enough  to  raise  all  the  flowers  needed 
for  this  toy-court.  The  five  houses  built  exactly  alike, 
are  two  and  a  half  stories  high,  and  have  each  a  dormer- 
window,  curtained  with  white  dimity,  so  that  they  look 
like  five  elderly  dames  in  caps  ;  and  the  court  has  got 
ten  the  name  of  Five-Sisters  Court,  to  the  despair  of 
Amory  Lane,  which  felt  its  sole  chance  for  respectabil 
ity  slip  away  when  the  court  came  to  disown  its  patro 
nymic. 

It  was  at  dusk,  the  afternoon  before  Christmas,  when 
a  young  man,  Nicholas  Judge  by  name,  walking  inquir 
ingly  down  Amory  Lane,  turned  into  Five-Sisters 
Court,  and  stood  facing  the  five  old  ladies,  apparently 
in  some  doubt  as  to  which  he  should  accost.  There 
was  a  number  on  each  door,  but  no  name  ;  and  it  was 
impossible  to  tell  from  the  outside  who  or  what  sort  of 
people  lived  in  each.  If  one  could  only  get  round  to 
the  rear  of  the  court,  one  might  get  some  light,  for  the 
backs  of  houses  are  generally  off  their  guard,  and  the 
Five  Sisters  who  look  alike  in  their  dimity  caps  might 
possibly  have  more  distinct  characters  when  not  dressed 
for  company.  Perhaps,  after  the  caps  are  off,  and  the 
spectacles  removed  —  but  toward  what  outrageous  sen 
timents  are  we  drifting  ! 

There  was  a  cause  for  Nicholas  Judge's  hesitation. 
In  one  of  those  houses,  he  had  good  reason  to  believe, 
lived  an  aunt  of  his,  the  only  relation  left  to  him  in  the 
world,  so  far  as  he  knew,  and  by  so  slender  a  thread 
was  he  held  to  her  that  he  knew  only  her  maiden 
name.  Through  the  labyrinth  of  possible  widowhoods, 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  5 

one  of  which  at  least  was  actual,  and  the  changes  in 
condition  which  many  years  would  effect,  he  was  to 
feel  his  way  to  the  Fair  Rosamond  by  this  thread. 
Nicholas  was  a  wise  young  man,  as  will  no  doubt  ap 
pear  when  we  come  to  know  him  better,  and,  though  a 
fresh  country  youth,  visiting  the  city  for  the  first  time, 
was  not  so  indiscreet  as  to  ask  bluntly  at  each  door, 
until  he  got  satisfaction,  "  Does  my  Aunt  Eunice1  live 
here  ?  "  As  the  doors  in  the  court  were  all  shut  and 
equally  dumb,  he  resolved  to  take  the  houses  in  order, 
and  proposing  to  himself  the  strategy  of  asking  for  a 
glass  of  water,  and  so  opening  the  way  for  further  par 
ley,  he  stood  before  the  door  of  Number  One. 

He  raised  the  knocker  (for  there  was  no  bell),  and 
tapped  in  a  hesitating  manner,  as  if  he  would  take  it  all 
back  in  case  of  an  egregious  mistake.  There  was  a 
shuffle  in  the  entry ;  the  door  opened  slowly,  disclosing 
an  old  and  tidy  negro  woman,  who  invited  Nicholas  in 
by  a  gesture,  and  saying,  "  You  wish  to  see  master  ?  " 
led  him  on  through  a  dark  passage  without  waiting  for 
an  answer.  "  Certainly,"  he  thought,  "  I  want  to  see  the 
master  more  than  I  want  a  glass  of  water :  I  will  keep 
that  device  for  the  next  house  ;  "  and,  obeying  the  lead 
of  the  servant,  he  went  up-stairs,  and  was  ushered  into 
a  room,  where  there  was  just  enough  dusky  light  to 
disclose  tiers  of  books,  a  table  covered  with  papers,  and 
other  indications  of  a  student's  abode. 

Nicholas's  eye  had  hardly  become  accustomed  to  the 
dim  light,  when  the  scholar  himself,  the  master  whom 
he  was  to  see,  came  forward  from  the  window  ;  a  small, 
old  man,  erect,  with  white  hair  and  smooth  forehead, 
beneath  which  projected  two  beads  of  eyes,  that  seemed, 
from  their  advanced  position,  endeavoring  to  take  in 
what  lay  round  the  corner  of  the  head  as  well  as  objects 
directly  in  front.  His  long  palm-leaved  study-gown  and 


6  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

tasseled  velvet  cap  lent  him  a  reverend  appearance  ; 
and  he  bore  in  his  hand  what  seemed  a  curiously 
shaped  dipper,  as  if  he  were  some  wise  man  coming  to 
slake  a  disciple's  thirst  with  water  from  the  fountain- 
head  of  knowledge. 

"  Has  he  guessed  my  pretended  errand  ?  "  wondered 
Nicholas  to  himself,  feeling  a  little  ashamed  of  his  in 
nocent  ruse,  for  he  was  not  in  the  least  thirsty  ;  but  the 
old  man  began  at  once  to  address  him,  after  motioning 
him  to  a  seat.  He  spoke  abruptly,  and  with  a  re 
strained  impatience  of  manner  :  — 

"  So  you  received  my  letter  appointing  this  hour  for 
an  interview.  Well,  what  do  you  expect  me  to  do  for 
you  ?  You  compliment  me.,  in  a  loose  sort  of  way, 
on  my  contributions  to  philological  science,  and  tell  me 
that  you  are  engaged  in  the  same  inquiries  with  my 
self  "  — 

"  Sir,"  said  Nicholas,  in  alarm,  —  "I  ought  to  ex 
plain  myself,  —  I  "  — 

But  the  old  gentleman  gave  no  heed  to  the  inter 
ruption,  and  continued  :  — 

—  "And  that  you  have  published  an  article  on  the 
Value  of  Words.  You  sent  me  the  paper,  but  I  did  n't 
find  anything  in  it.  I  have  no  great  opinion  of  the 
efforts  of  young  men  in  this  direction.  It  contained 
commonplace  generalities  which  I  never  heard  ques 
tioned.  You  can't  show  the  value  of  words  by  wast 
ing  them.  I  told  you  I  should  be  plain.  Now  you 
want  me  to  give  you  some  hints,  you  say,  as  to  the  best 
method  of  pursuing  philological  researches.  In  a  hasty 
moment  I  said  you  might  come,  though  I  don't  usually 
allow  visitors.  You  praise  me  for  what  I  have  accom 
plished  in  philology.  Young  man,  that  is  because  I 
have  not  given  myself  up  to  idle  gadding  and  gossiping. 
Do  you  think,  if  I  had  been  making  calls,  and  receiv- 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  7 

ing  anybody  who  chose  to  force  himself  upon  me,  dur 
ing  the  last  forty  years,  that  I  should  have  been  able 
to  master  the  digarnma,  which  you  think  my  worthiest 
labor  ?  " 

"  Sir,"  interrupted  Nicholas  again,  thinking  that  the 
question,  though  it  admitted  no  answer,  might  give  him 
a  chance  to  stand  on  his  own  legs  once  more,  "  I  really 
must  ask  your  pardon." 

"The  best  method  of  pursuing  philological  re 
searches  !  "  continued  the  old  scholar,  deaf  to  Nicholas's 
remonstrance.  "  That  is  one  of  your  foolish  general 
questions,  that  show,  how  little  you  know  what  you  are- 
about.  But  do  as  I  have  done.  Work  by  yourself,, 
and  dig,  dig.  Give  up  your  senseless  gabbling  in  the- 
magazines,  get  over  your  astonishment  at  finding  that 
caelum  and  heaven  contain  the  same  idea  etymologically,. 
and  that  there  was  a  large-bread  bakery  at  Skolos,  and 
make  up  your  mind  to  believe  nothing  till  you  can't 
help  it.  You  have  n't  begun  to  work  yet.  Wait  till 
you  have  lived  as  I  have,  forty  years  in  one  house,  with* 
your  library  likely  to  turn  you  out  of  doors,  and  only 
an  old  black  woman  to  speak  to,  before  you  begin  to 
think  of  calling  yourself  a  scholar.  Eh  ?  " 

At  this  point  the  old  gentleman  adjusted  the  tin 
dipper,  which  was  merely  an  ear-trumpet,  —  though 
for  a  moment  more  mysterious  to  Nicholas,  in  its  new 
capacity,  than  when  he  had  regarded  it  as  a  unique 
specimen  of  a  familiar  household-implement,  —  and 
thrust  the  bowl  toward  the  embarrassed  youth.  In 
fact,  having  said  all  that  he  intended  to  say  to  his  un 
welcome  supposed  disciple,  he  showed  enough  churlish 
grace  to  permit  him  to  make  such  reply  or  defense  as 
was  at  his  command. 

The  old  gentleman  had  pulled  up  so  suddenly  in  his 
harangue,  and  called  for  an  answer  so  authoritatively, 


8  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

and  with  such  a  singular  flourish  of  his  trumpet,  that 
Nicholas,  losing  command  of  the  studied  explanation  of 
his  conduct,  which  a  moment  before  had  been  at  his 
tongue's  end,  caught  at  the  last  sentence  spoken,  and 
gained  a  perilous  advantage  by  asking, — 

"  Have  you,  indeed,  lived  in  this  house  forty  years, 
sir  ?  " 

"Eh  .'what?"  said  the  old  gentleman,  impatiently, 
perceiving  that  he  had  spoken.  "  Here,  speak  into  my 
trumpet.  What  is  the  use  of  a  trumpet,  if  you  don't 
speak  into  it  ?  "  * 

"  Oh,"  thought  Nicholas  to  himself,  "  I  see,  he  is  ex 
cessively  deaf;"  and  bending  over  the  trumpet,  where 
he  saw  a  sieve-like  frame,  as  if  all  speech  were  to  be 
strained  as  it  entered,  he  collected  his  force,  and  re 
peated  the  question,  with  measured  and  sonorous  ut 
terance,  "  Sir,  have  you  lived  in  this  house  forty 
years  ?" 

"  I  just  told  you  so,"  said  the  old  man,  not  unnatur 
ally  starting  back.  "  And  if  you  were  going  to  ask  me 
such  an  unnecessary  question  at  all,"  he  added,  testily, 
"you  needn't  have  roared  it  out  at  me.  I  could  have 
heard  that  without  my  trumpet.  Yes,  I  've  lived  here 
forty  years,  and  so  has  black  Maria,  who  opened  the 
door  for  you  ;  and  I  say  again  that  I  have  accomplished 
what  I  have  by  uninterrupted  study.  I  have  n't  gone 
about  bowing  to  every  he,  she,  and  it.  I  never  knew 
who  lived  in  any  of  the  other  houses  in  the  court  till 
to-day,  when  a  woman  came  and  asked  me  to  go  out 
for  the  evening  to  her  house  ;  and  just  because  it  was 
Christmas  eve,  I  was  foolish  enough  to  be  wheedled  by 

her  into  saying  I  would  go.    Miss Miss ,  I  can't 

remember  her  name  now.  I  shall  have  to  ask  Maria. 
There  you  have  n't  got  much  satisfaction  out  of  me ; 
but  do  you  mind  what  I  said  to  you,  and  it  will  be 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT. 

Us  knS6*68'  U 

worth  more  than  if  I  had  told  you  what  books  to  read. 
Eh  ?  "  and  he  invited  Nicholas  once  more  to  drop  his 
words  into  the  trumpet. 

"  Good  afternoon,"  said  Nicholas,  hesitatingly,  — 
"  thank  you,"  —  at  a  loss  what  pertinent  reply  to  make, 
and  in  despair  of  clearing  himself  from  the  tangle  in 
which  he  had  become  involved.  It  was  plain,  too,  that 
he  should  get  no  satisfaction  here,  at  least  upon  the 
search  in  which  he  was  engaged.  But  the  reply  seemed 
quite  satisfactory  to  the  old  gentleman,  who  cheerfully 
relinquished  him  to  black  Maria,  who,  in  turn,  passed 
him  out  of  the  house. 

Left  to  himself,  and  rid  of  his  personal  embarrass 
ment,  he  began  to  feel  uncomfortably  guilty,  as  he 
considered  the  confusion  which  he  had  entailed  upon 
the  real  philological  disciple,  and  would  fain  comfort 
himself  with  the  hope  that  he  had  acted  as  a  sort  of 
lightning-rod  to  conduct  the  old  scholar's  bolts,  and  so 
had  secured  some  immunity  for  the  one  at  whom  the 
bolts  were  really  shot.  But  his  own  situation  de 
manded  his  attention ;  and  leaving  the  to-be  unhappy 
young  man  and  the  to-be  perplexed  old  gentleman  to 
settle  the  difficulty  over  the  mediating  ear-trumpet,  he 
addressed  himself  again  to  his  task,  and  proposed  to 
take  another  survey  of  the  court,  with  the  vague  hope 
that  his  aunt  might  show  herself  with  such  unmistaka 
ble  signs  of  relationship  as  to  bring  his  researches  to 
an  immediate  and  triumphant  close. 

Just  as  he  was  turning  away  from  the  front  of  Num 
ber  One,  buttoning  his  overcoat  with  an  air  of  self-ab 
straction,  he  was  suddenly  and  unaccountably  attacked 
in  the  chest  with  such  violence  as  almost  to  throw  him 
off  his  feet.  At  the  next  moment  his  ears  were  as 
sailed  by  a  profusion  of  apologetic  explanations  from  a 
young  man,  who  made  out  to  tell  him,  that,  coming  out 


10  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

of  his  house  with  the  intention  of  calling  next  door,  he 
had  leaped  over  the  snow  that  lay  between,  and,  not 
seeing  the  gentleman,  had,  most  unintentionally,  plunged 
headlong  into  him.  He  hoped  he  had  not  hurt  him  ; 
he  begged  a  thousand  pardons ;  it  was  very  careless  in 
him  ;  and  then,  perfect  peace  having  succeeded  this  vi 
olent  attack,  the  new-comer  politely  asked,  — 

"  Can  you  tell  me  whether  Doctor  Chocker  is  at 
home,  and  disengaged  ?  I  see  that  you  have  just  left 
his  house." 

"  Do  you  mean  the  deaf  old  gentleman  in  Number 
One  ?  "  asked  Nicholas. 

"  I  was  not  aware  that  he  was  deaf,"  said  his  com 
panion. 

"  And  I  did  not  know  that  his  name  was  Doctor 
Chocker,"  said  Nicholas,  smiling.  "  But  may  I  ask," 
said  he,  with  a  sudden  thought,  and  blushing  so  hard 
that  even  the  wintry  red  of  his  cheeks  was  outshone, 
"  if  you  were  just  going  to  see  him  ?  " 

"  I  had  an  appointment  to  see  him  at  this  hour  ;  and 
that  is  the  reason  why  I  asked  you  if  he  was  disen 
gaged." 

"He — he  is  not  engaged,  I  believe,"  said  Nicholas, 
stammering  and  blushing  harder  than  ever  ;  "but  a 
word  with  you,  sir.  I  must  —  really  —  it  was  wholly 
unintentional  —  but  unless  I  am  mistaken,  the  old 
gentleman  thought  I  was  you." 

"  Thought  you  were  I  ?  "  said  the  other,  screwing  his 
eyebrows  into  a  question,  and  letting  his  nose  stand  for 
an  exclamation-point.  "  But  come,  it  is  cold  here,  — 
will  you  do  me  the  honor  to  come  up  to  my  room  ?  At 
any  rate,  I  should  like  to  hear  something  about  the  old 
fellow."  And  he  turned  towards  the  next  house. 

"  What ! "  said  Nicholas,  "  do  you  live  in  Numbei 
Two?" 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  11 

"  Yes,  I  have  rooms  here,"  said  his  companion,  jump 
ing  back  over  the  snow.  "You  seem  surprised." 

"  It  is  extraordinary,"  muttered  Nicholas  to  himself, 
as  he  entered  the  house  and  followed  his  new  acquaint 
ance  up-stairs. 

Their  entrance  seemed  to  create  some  confusion ;  for 
there  was  an  indistinct  sound  as  of  a  tumultuous  retreat 
in  every  direction,  a  scuttling  up  and  down-stairs,  and 
a  whisking  of  dresses  round  corners,  with  still  more  in 
distinct  and  distant  sound  of  suppressed  chattering  and 
a  voice  berating. 

"It  is  extremely  provoking,"  said  the  young  man, 
when  they  had  entered  his  room  and  the  door  was 
shut;  "but  the  people  in  this  house  seem  to  do  nothing 
but  watch  my  movements.  You  heard  that  banging 
about  ?  Well,  I  seldom  come  in  or  go  out,  especially 
with  a  friend,  but  that  just  such  a  stampede  takes  place 
in  the  passage-ways  and  staircase.  I  have  no  idea  who 
lives  in  the  house,  except  a  Mrs.  Crimp,  a  very  worthy 
woman,  no  doubt,  but  with  too  many  children,  I  should 
guess.  I  only  lodge  here ;  and  as  I  send  my  money 
down  every  month  with  the  bill  which  I  find  on  my 
table,  I  never  see  Mrs.  Crimp.  Now  I  don't  see  why 
they  should  be  so  curious  about  me.  I  'm  sure  I  am 
very  contented  in  my  ignorance  of  the  whole  house 
hold.  It 's  a  little  annoying,  though,  when  I  bring  any 
one  into  the  house.  Will  you  excuse  me  a  moment, 
while  I  ring  for  more  coal  ?  " 

While  he  disappeared  for  this  purpose,  seeming  to 
keep  the  bell  in  some  other  part  of  the  house,  Nicholas 
took  a  hasty  glance  round  the  room,  and,  opening  a 
book  on  the  table,  read  on  the  fly-leaf,  Paul  Le  Clear, 
a  name  which  he  tasked  for  convenience  to  the  occu- 

OO 

pant  of  the  room  until  he  should  find  one  more  au 
thentic.     The  room  corresponded  to  that  in  which  he 


12  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

had  met  Doctor  Checker,  but  the  cheerful  gleam  of  an 
open  fire  gave  a  brighter  aspect  to  the  interior.  Here 
also  were  books;  but  while  at  the  Doctor's  the  walls, 
tables,  and  even  floor  seemed  bursting  with  the  crowd 
that  had  found  lodging  there,  so  that  he  had  made  his 
way  to  a  chair  by  a  sort  of  foot-path  through  a  field  of 
folios,  here  there  was  the  nicest  order  and  an  evident 
attempt  at  artistic  arrangement.  Nor  were  books  alone 
the  possessors  of  the  walls ;  for  a  few  pictures  and 
busts  had  places,  and  -two  or  three  ingenious  cupboards 
excited  curiosity.  The  room,  in  short,  showed  plainly 
the  presence  of  a  cultivated  mind ;  and  Nicholas,  who, 
though  unfamiliar  with  city-life,  had  received  a  capital 
intellectual  training  at  the  hands  of  a  scholarly,  but  an 
choret  father,  was  delighted  at  the  signs  of  culture  in 
his  new  acquaintance. 

Mr.  Le  Clear  reentered  the  room,  followed  presently 
by  the  coal-scuttle  in  the  hands  of  a  small  servant,  and, 
remembering  the  occasion  which  had  brought  them  to 
gether,  invited  Nicholas  to  finish  the  explanation  which 
he  had  begun  below.  He,  set  at  ease  by  the  agreeable 
surroundings,  opened  his  heart  wide,  and,  for  the  sake 
of  explicitness  in  his  narration,  proposed  to  begin  back 
at  the  very  beginning. 

"  By  all  means  begin  at  the  beginning,"  said  Mr.  Le 
Clear,  rubbing  his  hands  in  expectant  pleasure ;  "  but 
before  you  begin,  my  good  sir,  let  me  suggest  that  we 
take  a  cup  of  tea  together.  I  must  take  mine  early  to 
night,  as  I  am  to  spend  the  evening  out,  and  there  's 
something  to  tell  you,  sir,  when  you  are  through,"  — 
as  if  meeting  his  burst  of  confidence  with  a  correspond 
ing  one,  —  "  though  it  's  a  small  matter,  probably,  com 
pared  with  yours,  but  it  has  amused  me.  I  can't  make 
a  great  show  on  the  table,"  he  added,  with  an  elegant 
humility,  when  Nicholas  accepted  his  invitation  ;  "  but 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  13 

I  like  to  take  my  tea  in  my  room,  though  I  go  out  for 
dinner." 

So  saying,  he  brought  from  the  cupboard  a  little 
table-cloth,  and,  bustling  about,  deposited  on  a  tea-tray, 
one  by  one,  various  members  of  a  tea-set,  which  had 
evidently  been  plucked  from  a  tea-plant  in  China,  since 
the  forms  and  figures  were  all  suggested  by  the  flowery 
kingdom.  The  lids  of  the  vessels  were  shaped  like 
tea-leaves  ;  and  miniature  China  men  and  women  picked 
their  way  about  among  the  letters  of  the  Chinese  alpha 
bet,  as  if  they  were  playing  at  word  puzzles.  Nicholas 
admired  the  service  to  its  owner's  content,  establishing 
thus  a  new  bond  of  sympathy  between  them ;  and  both 
were  soon  seated  near  the  table,  sipping  the  tea  with 
demure  little  spoons,  that  approached  the  meagreness  of 
Chinese  chop-sticks,  and  decorating  white  bread  with 
brown  marmalade. 

"  Now,"  said  the  host,  "  since  you  share  my  salt,  I 
ought  to  be  introduced  to  you,  an  office  which  I  will 
perform  without  ceremony.  My  name  is  Paul  Le 
Clear,"  which  Nicholas  and  we  had  already  guessed  cor 
rectly. 

"  And  mine,"  said  Nicholas,  is  "  Nicholas,  —  Nicholas 
Judge." 

"  Very  well,  Mr.  Judge  ;  now  let  us  have  the  story," 
said  Paul,  extending  himself  in  an  easy  attitude ;  "  and 
begin  at  the  beginning." 

"  The  story  begins  with  my  birth,"  said  Nicholas,  as 
if  about  to  give  infinite  detail.  But  it  was  a  short 
story  after  all,  for,  not  even  naming  the  place  of  his 
birth,  he  told  his  companion  that  after  his  mother's 
death,  in  his  childhood  he  had  lived  in  a  country 
home  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain,  with  his  father  for 
almost  solitary  friend  and  teacher,  until,  his  father 
dying,  he  had  come  to  the  city ;  that  he  had  but  just 


14  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

reached  the  place,  and  he  made  it  his  first  object  to 
find  his  mother's  only  sister,  with  whom,  indeed,  his 
father  had  kept  up  no  acquaintance,  and  for  finding 
whom  he  had  but  a  slight  clew,  even  if  she  were  then 
living.  Nicholas  brought  his  narrative  dcwn  to  the 
point  where  Paul  had  so  unexpectedly  accosted  him, 
stopping  there,  since  subsequent  facts  were  fully  known 
to  both. 

"  And  now,"  he  concluded  kindling  a  little  with  his 
subject,  "  I  am  in  search  of  my  aunt.  What  sort  of 
woman  she  will  prove  to  be  I  cannot  tell ;  but  if  there 
is  any  virtue  in  sisterly  blood,  surely  my  Aunt  Eunice 
cannot  be  without  some  of  that  noble  nature  which  be 
longed  to  my  mother,  as  I  have  heard  her  described, 
and  as  her  miniature  bids  me  believe  in.  How  many 
times  of  late,  in  my  solitariness,  have  I  pictured  to  my 
self  this  one  kinswoman  receiving  me  for  her  sister's 
sake,  and  willing  to  befriend  me  for  my  own  !  True, 
I  am  strong,  and  able,  1  think,  to  make  my  way  in  the 
world  unaided.  It  is  not  such  help  as  would  ease  my 
necessary  struggle  that  I  ask,  but  the  sympathy  which 
only  blood-relationship  can  bring.  So  I  build  great 
hopes  on  my  success  in  the  search ;  and  it  would  be  a 
very  happy  fortune  which  should  bring  us  together  this 
evening.  Do  you  know  of  any  one,  Mr.  Le  Clear,  liv 
ing  in  this  court,  who  might  prove  to  be  my  aunt  ?  " 

"  Upon  my  soul,"  said  that  gentleman,  who  had  been 
sucking  the  juice  of  Nicholas's  narrative,  and  had  now 
reached  the  skin,  "  you  have  come  to  the  last  person 
likely  to  be  able  to  tell  you.  It  was  only  to-day  that 
I  learned  by  a  correspondence  with  Doctor  Chocker, 
whom  all  the  world  knows,  that  he  was  living  just  next 
door  to  me.  Who  lives  on  the  other  side  I  can't  tell. 
Mrs.  Crimp  lives  here  ;  but  she  receipts  her  bills,  Tem 
perance  A.  Crimp ;  so  there  's  no  chance  for  a  Eunice 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  15 

there.  As  for  the  other  three  houses,  I  know  nothing, 
except  just  this  ;  and  here  I  come  to  my  story,  which 
is  very  short,  and  nothing  like  so  entertaining  as  yours. 
Yesterday  I  was  called  upon  by  a  jiggoty  little  woman, 
—  I  say  jiggoty,  because  that  expresses  exactly  my 
meaning,  —  a  jiggoty  little  woman,  who  announced  her 
self  as  Miss  Fix,  living  in  Number  Five,  and  who 
brought  an  invitation  in  person  to  me  to  come  to  a 
small  party  at  her  house  this  Christmas  eve  ;  and  as 
she  was  jiggoty,  I  thought  I  would  amuse  myself  by 
going.  But  she  is  Miss  Fix ;  and  your  aunt,  accord 
ing  to  your  showing,  should  be  Mrs" 

"  That  must  be  where  the  old  gentleman,  Doctor 
Chocker,  is  going,"  said  Nicholas,  who  had  forgotten 
to  mention  that  part  of  the  Doctor's  remarks,  and  now 
repeated  what  had  been  said  to  him. 

"Really,  that  is  entertaining  !"  cried  Paul.  "I  cer 
tainly  shall  go,  if  it 's  for  nothing  else  than  to  see  Miss 
Fix  and  Doctor  Chocker  together." 

"  Pardon  my  ignorance,  Mr.  Le  Clear,"  said  Nicholas, 
with  a  smile  ;  "  but  what  do  you  mean  by  jiggoty  ?  " 

"  I  mean,"  said  Paul,  "  to  express  a  certain  efferves 
cence  of  manner,  as  if  one  were  corked  against  one's 
will,  ending  in  a  sudden  pop  of  the  cork  and  a  general 
overflowing.  I  invented  the  word  after  seeing  Miss 
Fix.  She  is  an  odd  person  ;  but  I  should  n't  wish  to 
be  so  concerned  about  my  neighbors  as  she  appears  to 
be.  My  philosophy  of  life,"  he  continued,  standing  now 
before  the  fire,  and  receiving  its  entire  radiation  upon 
the  superficies  of  his  back, "  is  to  extract  sunshine  from 
cucumbers.  Think  of  living  forty  years,  like  Doctor 
Chocker,  on  the  husks  of  the  digamma  !  I  am  obliged 
to  him  for  his  advice,  but  I  shan't  follow  it.  Here  are 
my  books  and  prints  ;  out  of  doors  are  people  and  Nat 
ure  :  I  propose  to  extract  sunshine  from  all  these  cu- 


16  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

cumbers.  The  world  was  made  for  us,  and  not  we  for 
the  world.  When  I  go  to  Miss  Fix's  this  evening, — 
and,  by  the  way,  it 's  'most  time  to  go,  —  I  presume  I 
shall  find  one  or  two  ripe  cucumbers.  Christmas,  too, 
is  a  capital  season  for  this  chemical  experiment.  I  find 
people  are  more  off  their  guard,  and  offer  special  advan 
tages  for  a  curious  observer  and  experimenter.  Here 
is  my  room ;  you  see  how  I  live  ;  and  when  I  have  no 
visitor  at  tea,  I  wind  up  my  little  musical  box.  You 
have  no  idea  what  a  pretty  picture  I  make,  sitting  in 
my  chair,  the  tea-table  by  me,  the  fire  in  the  grate,  and 
the  musical  box  for  a  cricket  on  the  hearth  ; "  and  Mr. 
Le  Clear  laughed  good-humoredly. 

Nicholas  laughed,  too.  He  had  been  smiling  through 
out  the  3roung  philosopher's  discourse;  but  he  was  con 
scious  of  a  little  feeling  of  uneasiness,  as  if  he  were  be 
ing  subjected  to  the  cucumber-extract  process.  He  rose 
to  go,  and  shook  hands  with  Paul,  who  wished  him  all 
success  in  finding  his  aunt ;  as  for  himself,  he  thought 
he  got  along  better  without  aunts.  The  two  went  down 
stairs  to  the  door,  causing  very  much  the  same  disper 
sion  of  the  tribes  as  before ;  and  Nicholas  once  more 
stood  in  Five-Sisters  Court,  while  Paul  Le  Clear  re 
turned  to  his  charming  bower,  to  be  tickled  with  the 
recollection  of  the  adventure,  and  to  prepare  for  Miss 
Pix's  party. 

"  On  the  whole,  I  think  I  won't  disturb  Doctor 
Checker's  mind  by  clearing  it  up,"  said  he  to  himself. 
"  It  might,  too,  bring  on  a  repetition  of  the  fulmination 
against  my  paper  which  the  young  Judge  seemed  so  to 
enjoy  relating.  An  innocent  youth,  certainly  !  I  won 
der  if  he  expected  me  to  give  him  my  autobiography." 

Nicholas  Judge  confessed  to  himself  a  slight  degree  of 
despondency,  as  he  looked  at  the  remaining  two  houses 
in  the  court,  since  Miss  Pix's  would  have  to  be  counted 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  17 

out,  and  reflected  that  his  chances  of  success  were 
dwindling.  His  recent  conversation  had  left  upon  his 
mind,  for  some  reason  which  he  hardly  stopped  now  to 
explain,  a  disagreeable  impression  ;  and  he  felt  a  trifle 
wearied  of  this  very  dubious  enterprise.  What  likeli 
hood  was  there,  if  his  aunt  had  lived  here  a  long  time 
past,  as  he  assumed  in  his  calculations,  that  she  would 
have  failed  to  make  herself  known  in  some  way  to 
Doctor  Chocker  ?  since  the  vision  which  he  had  of  this 
worthy  lady  was  that  of  a  kind-hearted  and  most  neigh 
borly  soul.  But  he  reflected  that  city  life  must  differ 
greatly  from  that  in  the  country,  even  more  than  he 
had  conceded  with  all  his  a  priori  reasonings ;  and  he 
decided  to  draw  no  hasty  inferences,  but  to  proceed  in- 
the  Baconian  method  by  calling  at  Number  Three.  He 
was  rather  out  of  conceit  with  his  strategy  of  thirst, 
which  had  so  fallen  below  the  actual  modes  of  effecting 
an  entrance,  and  now  resolved  to  march  boldly  up  with 
the  irresistible  engine  of  straight-forward  inquiry,  • —  as 
straight-forward,  at  least,  as  the  circumstance  would  per 
mit.  He  knocked  at  the  door.  After  a  little  delay, 
enlivened  for  him  by  the  interchange  of  voices  within 
the  house,  apparently  at  opposite  extremities,  a  light 
approached,  and  the  door  was  opened,  disclosing  a  large, 
florid-faced  man,  in  his  shirt-sleeves,  holding  a  small 
and  sleepy  lamp  in  his  hand.  Nicholas  moved  at  once 
upon  the  enemy's  works. 

"  AVill  you  have  the  goodness  to  tell  me,  sir.  if  a 
lady  named  Miss  Eunice  Brown  lives  here?"  —  that 
being  his  aunt's  maiden  name,  and  possibly  good  on 
demand  thirty  years  after  date.  The  reply  came,  after 
a  moment's  deliberation,  as  if  the  man  wished  to  gain 
time  for  an  excursion  into  some  unexplored  region  of 
the  house,  — 

"  Well,  sir,  I  won't  say  positively  that  she  does  n't ; 
2 


18  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

and  yet  I  can  say,  that  in  one  sense  of  the  word,  Miss 
Eunice  Brown  does  not  live  here.  Will  you  walk  in, 
and  we  will  talk  further  about  it." 

Nicholas  entered,  though  somewhat  wondering  how 
they  were  to  settle  Miss  Brown's  residence  there  by 
the  most  protracted  conversation.  The  man  in  shirt 
sleeves  showed  him  into  a-sitting-room,  and  setting  the 
lamp  upon  the  top  of  a  corner  what-not,  where  it 
twinkled  like  a  distant  star,  he  gave  Nicholas  a  seat, 
and  took  one  opposite  to  him,  first  shutting  the  door  be 
hind  them. 

"  Will  you  give  me  your  name,  sir  ?  "  said  he. 

Nicholas  hesitated,  not  quite  liking  to  part  with  it  to 
one  who  might  misuse  it. 

"  I  have  no  objection,"  said  his  companion,  in  a  son 
orous  voice,  "  to  giving  my  name  to  any  one  that  asks 
it.  My  name  is  Soprian  Manlius." 

"  And  mine,"  said  Nicholas,  not  to  be  outdone  in 
generosity,  "  is  Nicholas  Judge." 

"  Very  well,  Mr.  Judge.  Now  we  understand  each 
other,  I  think.  I  asked  your  name  as  a  guaranty  of 
good  faith.  Anonymous  contributions  cannot  be  re 
ceived,  et  cetera,  —  as  they  say  at  the  head  of  news 
papers.  And  that's  my  rule  of  business,  sir.  People 
come  to  me  to  ask  the  character  of  a  girl,  and  I  ask 
their  names.  If  they  don't  want  to  give  them,  I  say, 
'  Very  well;  I  can't  intrust  the  girl's  character  to  people 
without  name.'  And  it  brings  them  out,  sir,  it  brings 
them  out,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  leaning  back,  and  taking 
a  distant  view  of  his  masterly  diplomacy. 

"  Do  people  come  to  you  to  inquire  after  persons' 
characters  ? "  asked  Nicholas,  somewhat  surprised  at 
happening  upon  such  an  oracle. 

"  Well,  in  a  general  way,  no,"  said  Mr.  Manlius, 
smiling ;  "  though  I  won't  say  but  that  they  would  sue- 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  19 

ceed  as  well  here  as  in  most  places.  In  a  particular 
way,  yes.  I  keep  an  intelligence-office.  Here  is  my 
card,  sir,"  —  pulling  one  out  of  his  waistcoat-pocket, 
and  presenting  it  to  Nicholas ;  ll  and  you  will  see  by 
the  phraseology  employed,  that  I  have  unrivaled  means 
for  securing  the  most  valuable  help  from  all  parts  of 
the  world.  Mr.  Judge,"  he  whispered,  leaning  for 
ward,  and  holding  up  his  forefinger  to  enforce  strict 
secrecy,  "  I  keep  a  paid  agent  in  Nova  Scotia."  And 
once  more  Mr.  Manlius  retreated  in  his  chair,  to  get 
the  whole  effect  of  the  announcement  upon  his  visitor. 

The  internal  economy  of  an  office  for  obtaining  and 
furnishing  intelligence  might  have  been  further  revealed 
to  Nicholas;  but  at  this  moment  a  voice  was  heard  at 
the  outside  of  the  door,  calling,  "  S'prian !  S'prian  ! 
we're  'most  ready." 

"  Coming,  Caroline,"  replied  Mr.  Manlius,  and,  re 
called  to  the  object  for  which  his  visitor  was  there, 
he  turned  to  Nicholas,  and  resumed,  — 

"Well,  Mr.  Judge,  about  Miss  Eunice  Brown, 
whether  she  lives  here  or  not.  Are  you  personally 
acquainted  with  Miss  Brown  ?  " 

"  No,  sir,"  said  Nicholas,  frankly.  "  I  will  tell  you 
plainly  my  predicament.  Miss  Eunice  Brown  was  my 
mother's  sister ;  but  after  my  mother's  death,  which 
took  place  when  I  was  a  child,  there  was  no  inter 
course  with  her  on  the  part  of  our  family,  which  con 
sisted  of  my  father  and  myself.  My  father,  I  ought  to 
say,  had  no  unfriendliness  toward  her,  but  his  habits 
of  life  were  those  of  a  solitary  student ;  and  therefore 
he  took  no  pains  to  keep  up  the  acquaintance.  He 
heard  of  her  marriage,  and  the  subsequent  death  of  her 
husband  ;  rumor  reached  him  of  a  second  marriage,  but 
he  never  heard  the  name  of  the  man  she  married  in 
either  case.  My  father  lately  died;  but  before  his 


20  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

death  he  advised  me  to  seek  this  aunt,  if  possible,  since 
she  was  my  only  living  near  relation ;  and  he  told  me 
that  he  had  heard  of  her  living  in  this  court  many 
years  ago.  So  I  have  come  here  with  a  faint  hope  of 
tracing  her." 

Mr.  Manlius  listened  attentively  to  this  explanation  ; 
and  then  solemnly  walking  to  the  door,  he  called  in  a 
deep  voice,  as  if  he  would  have  the  summons  start  from 
the  very  bottom  of  the  house  for  thoroughness,  —  "  Car 
oline  !  " 

The  call  was  answered  immediately  by  the  appear 
ance  of  Mrs.  Manlius,  in  a  red  dress,  that  put  every 
thing  else  in  the  room  in  the  background. 

"  Caroline,"  said  he,  more  impressively  than  would 
seem  necessary,  and  pointing  to  Nicholas,  "  this  is  Mr. 
Nicholas  Judge.  Mr.  Judge,  you  see  my  wife." 

"  But,  my  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Manlius,  nervously,  as 
soon  as  she  had  bowed,  discovering  the  feeble  lamp, 
which  was  saving  its  light  by  burning  very  dimly,  "  that 
lamp  will  be  off  the  what-not  in  a  moment.  How  could 
you  put  it  right  on  the  edge  ?  "  And  she  took  it  down 
from  its  pinnacle,  and  placed  it  firmly  in  the  middle  of 
a  table,  at  a  distance  from  anything  inflammable.  "  Mr. 
Manlius  is  so  absent-minded,  sir,"  said  she,  turning  to 
Nicholas. 

"  Caroline,"  said  her  husband,  "  this  will  be  a  mem 
orable  day  in  the  history  of  our  family.  Eunice  has 
found  a  dear  sister's  son." 

"  Where  ?  "  she  asked,  turning  for  explanation  to 
Nicholas,  who  at  Mr.  Manlius's  words  felt  his  heart 
beat  quicker. 

Then  Mr.  Manlius,  in  as  few  words  as  his  dignity  and 
the  occasion  would  deem  suitable,  stated  the  case  to  his 
wife,  who  looked  admiringly  upon  Mr.  Manlius's  ora 
tory,  and  interestingly  upon  Nicholas. 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  21 

"  Shall  I  call  Eunice  down,  S'prian  ? "  said  she, 
when  her  husband  concluded,  and  conveying  some  mys 
terious  information  to  him  by  means  of  private  signals. 

"  We  have  here,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  now  turning  the 
hose  of  his  eloquence  toward  Nicholas,  and  playing  upon 
him,  "  we  have  here  a  dear  friend,  who  has  abode  in 
our  house  for  many  years.  She  came  to  us  when  she 
was  in  trouble,  and  here  has  she  found  a  resting-place 
for  the  soles  of  her  feet.  Sir,"  with  a  darksome  glance, 
"  her  relations  had  forgotten  her." 

"  I  must  say  "  —  interrupted  Nicholas  ;  but  Mr. 
Manlius  waved  him  back,  and  continued  :  — 

"  But  she  found  true  kinsfolk  in  the  friends  of  her 
early  days.  We  have  cared  for  her  tenderly,  and  now 
at  last  we  have  our  reward  in  consigning  her  to  the 
willing  hands  of  a  young  scion  of  her  house.  She  was 
Eunice  Brown  ;  she  had  a  sister  who  married  a  Judge, 
as  I  have  often  heard  her  say  ;  and  she  herself  married 
Mr.  Archibald  Starkey,  who  is  now  no  more.  Caro 
line,  I  will  call  Eunice ; "  and  Mr.  Manlius  went 
heavily  out  of  the  room. 

Nicholas  was  very  much  agitated,  and  Mrs.  Manlius 
very  much  excited,  over  this  sudden  turn  of  affairs. 

"  Eunice  has  lived  with  us  fifteen  years,  come  Feb 
ruary  ;  and  she  has  been  one  of  the  family,  coming  in 
and  going  out  like  the  rest  of  us.  I  found  her  on  the 
door-step  one  night,  and  was  n't  going  to  bring  her  in 
at  first,  because,  you  see,  I  did  n't  know  what  she  might 
be  ;  when,  lo  and  behold  !  she  looked  up,  and  said  I, 
'  Eunice  Brown  ! '  '  Yes,'  said  she,  and  said  she  was 
cold  and  hungry  ;  and  I  brought  her  in,  and  told  Mr. 
Manlius,  and  he  came  and  talked  with  her,  and  said  he, 
'  Caroline,  there  is  character  in  that  woman  ; '  for,  Mr. 
Judge,  Mr.  Maulius  can  read  character  in  a  person  won 
derfully  ;  he  has  a  real  gift  that  way ;  arid,  indeed,  he 


22  THE  DWELLERS  1ST 

needs  it  in  his  profession  ;  and,  as  I  tell  him,  he  was 
born  an  intelligence  officer." 

Thus,  and  with  more  in  the  same  strain,  did  Mrs. 
Manlius  give  vent  to  her  feelings,  though  hardly  in  the 
ear  of  Nicholas,  who  paced  the  room  in  restless  expec 
tation  of  his  aunt's  approach.  He  heard  enough  to 
give  a  turn  to  his  thoughts  ;  and  it  was  with  unaffected 
sorrow  that  he  reflected  how  the  lonely  woman  had 
been  dependent  upon  the  charity,  as  it  seemed,  of  others. 
He  saw  in  her  now  no  longer  merely  the  motherly  aunt 
who  was  to  welcome  him,  but  one  whom  he  should  care 
for,  and  take  under  his  protection.  He  heard  steps  in 
the  entry,  and  easily  detected  the  ponderous  tread  of 
Mr.  Manlius,  who  now  opened  the  door,  and  reappeared 
in  more  careful  toilet,  since  he  was  furbished  and 
smoothed  by  the  addition  of  proper  touches,  until  he 
had  quite  the  air  of  a  man  of  society.  He  entered  the 
room  with  great  pomp  and  ceremony  all  by  himself, 
and  met  Nicholas's  disappointed  look  by  saying,  slowly, 

"Mrs.  Starkey,  your  beloved  aunt,  will  appear  pres 
ently  ; "  and  throwing  a  look  about  the  room,  as  if  he 
would  call  the  attention  of  all  the  people  in  the  dress- 
circle,  boxes,  and  amphitheatre,  he  continued,  "  I  have 
intimated  to  your  aunt  the  nature  of  your  relationship, 
and  I  need  not  say  that  she  is  quite  agitated  at  the  pro 
spective  meeting.  She  is  a  woman  "  — 

But  Mr.  Manlius's  flow  was  suddenly  turned  off  by 
the  appearance  of  Mrs.  Starkey  herself.  The  intro 
duction,  too,  which,  as  manager  of  this  little  scene,  he 
had  rehearsed  to  himself,  was  rendered  unnecessary  by 
the  prompt  action  of  Nicholas,  who  hastened  forward, 
with  tumultuous  feelings,  to  greet  his  aunt.  His  honest 
nature  had  no  skeptical  reserve  ;  and  he  saluted  her 
affectionately,  before  the  light  of  the  feeble  lamp, 
which  seemed  to  have  husbanded  all  its  strength  for 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  23 

this  critical  moment,  could  disclose  to  him  anything  of 
the  personal  appearance  of  his  relative.  At  this  mo 
ment  the  twinkling  light,  like  a  star  at  dawn, went  out; 
and  Mrs.  Manlius,  rushing  off,  reappeared  with  an 
astral,  which  turned  the  somewhat  gloomy  aspect  of 
affairs  into  cheerful  light.  Perhaps  it  was  symbolic  of 
a  sunrise  upon  the  world  which  inclosed  Nicholas  and 
his  aunt.  Nicholas  looked  at  Mrs.  Starkey,  who  was 
indeed  flurried,  and  saw  a  pinched  and  meagre  woman, 
the  flower  of  whose  youth  had  long  ago  been  pressed 
in  the  book  of  ill-fortune  until  it  was  colorless  and 
scentless.  She  found  words  presently,  even  before 
Nicholas  did ;  and  sitting  down  with  him  in  the  en 
couraging  presence  of  the  Manlii,  she  uttered  her 
thoughts  in  an  incoherent  way :  — 

"  Dear,  dear  !  who  would  have  said  it  ?  When  Miss 
Fix  came  to  invite  us  all  to  her  party,  and  said,  '  Mrs. 
Starkey,  I  'm  sure  I  hope  you  will  come,'  I  thought  it 
might  be  too  much  for  such  a  quiet  body  as  I  be.  But 
that  was  nothing  to  this.  Why,  if  here  I  haven't  got 
a  real  nephew  ;  and,  to  be  sure,  it 's  a  great  while  since 
I  saw  your  mother,  but,  I  declare,  you  do  look  just  like 
her,  and  a  Judge's  son  you  are,  too.  Did  they  say  you 
looked  like  your  father,  Nicky  ?  I  was  asking  Caro 
line  if  she  thought  my  bombazine  would  do,  after  all ; 
and  now  I  do  think  I  ought  to  wear  my  India  silk,  and 
put  on  my  pearl  necklace,  for  I  don't  want  my  Nicky 
to  be  ashamed  of  me.  You  '11  go  with  us,  won't  you, 
nephew,  to  Miss  Fix's  ?  I  expect  it 's  going  to  be 
a  grand  party ;  and  I  '11  go  round  and  introduce  you 
to  all  the  great  people ;  and  how  did  you  leave  your 
father,  Nicholas?" 

"  Why,  aunt,  did  not  Mr.  Manlius  tell  you  that  he 
was  dead  ?  "  said  Nicholas. 

"  Her  memory  's  a  little  short,"  whispered  Mrs.  Man- 


24  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

lius ;  but,  hardly  interrupted  by  this  little  answer  and 
whisper,  Mrs.  Starkey  was  again  plunging  headlong 
into  a  current  of  words,  and  struggling  among  the  ed 
dies  of  various  subjects.  Meanwhile,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Manlius,  having,  as  managers,  set  the  little  piece  on  the 
stage  in  good  condition,  were  carrying  on  a  private  uu- 
dertoned  conversation,  which  resulted  in  Mrs.  Manlius 
asking,  in  an  engaging  manner,  — 

"  Eunice,  dear,  would  you  prefer  to  stay  at  home 
this  evening  with  your  nephew  ?  Because  we  will  ex 
cuse  you  to  Miss  Fix,  who  would  hardly  expect  you." 

Mrs.  Starkey  was  in  the  midst  of  a  voluble  descrip 
tion  of  some  private  jewelry  which  she  intended  to 
show  the  astonished  Nicholas ;  but  she  caught  the  last 
words,  and  veered  round  to  Mrs.  Manlius,  saying,  — 

"  Indeed,  she  expects  me ;  and  she  expects  Nicholas, 
too.  She  will  be  very  much  gratified  to  see  him,  and 
I  have  no  doubt  she  will  give  another  party  for  him ; 
and  if  she  does,  I  mean  to  invite  my  friend  the  alder 
man  to  go.  I  should  n't  wonder  if  he  was  to  be  there 
to-night ;  and  now  I  think  of  it,  it  must  be  time  to  be 
going.  Caroline,  have  you  got  your  things  on?" 

Mrs.  Starkey  spoke  with  a  determination  that  suf 
fered  no  opposition,  so  that  Nicholas  and  Mr.  Manlius 
were  left  alone  for  a  moment,  while  the  two  women 
should  wrap  themselves  up. 

"Your  aunt  is  unduly  excited,  Mr.  Judge,"  said  the 
intelligence-officer ;  *'  and  it  was  for  that  reason  that  I 
advised  she  should  not  go.  She  has  hardly  been  her 
self  the  last  day  or  two.  Our  neighbor,  Miss  Pix  — 
a  woman  whose  character  is  somewhat  unsettled ;  no 
fixed  principles,  sir,  I  fear,"  shaking  his  head  regret 
fully  ;  "  too  erratic,  controlled  by  impulse,  possessing 
an  inquisitive  temperament,"  telling  off  upon  a  separate 
finger  each  count  in  the  charges  against  Miss  Fix's 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  25 

character,  and  reserving  for  the  thumb  the  final  over 
whelming  accusation,  —  "Sir,  she  has  not  learned  the 
great  French  economical  principle  of  Lassy  Fair." 
Miss  Fix  being  thus  stricken  down,  he  helped  her  up 
again  with  an  apology.  "But  her  advantages  have  no 
doubt  been  few.  She  has  not  studied  political  econ 
omy ;  and  how  can  she  hope  to  walk  unerringly?"  — 
and  Mr.  Manlius  gazed  at  an  imaginary  Miss  Fix  wan 
dering  without  compass  or  guide  over  the  desert  of  life. 
"  She  makes  a  party  to-night.  And  why  ?  Because 
it  is  Christmas  eve.  That  is  a  small  foundation,  Mr. 
Judge,  on  which  to  erect  the  structure  of  social  inter 
course.  Society,  sir,  should  be  founded  on  principles, 
not  accidents.  Because  my  house  is  accidentally  con 
tiguous  to  two  others,  shall  I  consider  myself,  and  shall 
Mrs.  Manlius  consider  herself,  as  necessarily  bound  by 
the  ligaments  of  Nature  —  by  the  ligaments  of  Nature, 
Mr.  Judge  —  to  the  dwellers  in  those  houses  ?  No, 
sir.  I  don't  know  who  lives  in  this  court  beside  Miss 
Fix.  Nature  brought  your  auut  and  Mrs.  Manlius 
together,  and  Nature  brought  you  and  your  aunt  to 
gether.  We  will  go,  however,  to  Miss  Fix's.  It  will 
gratify  her.  But  your  aunt  is  excited  about  the,  for 
her,  unusual  occasion.  And  now  she  has  seen  you.  I 
feared  this  interview  might  overcome  her.  She  is 
frail ;  but  she  is  fair,  sir,  if  I  may  say  so.  She  has 
character;  very  few  have  as  much,  —  and  I  have  seen 
many  women.  Did  you  ever  happen  to  see  Martha 
Jewmer,  Mr.  Judge?" 

Nicholas  could  not  remember  that  he  had. 

"  Well,  sir,  that  woman  has  been  in  my  office  twelve 
times.  I  got  a  place  for  her  each  time.  And  why? 
Because  she  had  character  " ;  and  Mr.  Manlius  leaned 
back  to  get  a  full  view  of  character.  Before  he  had 
satisfied  himself  enough  to  continue  his  reminiscences, 


26  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

his  wife  and  Mrs.  Starkey  returned,  bundled  up  as  if 
they  were  going  on  a  long  sleigh-ride. 

"We're  ready,  S'prian,"  said  Mrs.  Manlius.  "Eu 
nice  thinks  she  will  go  still,"  —  which  was  evident  from 
the  manner  in  which  Mrs.  Starkey  had  gathered  about 
her  a  quantity  of  ill-assorted  wrappers,  out  of  the  folds 
of  which  she  delivered  herself  to  each  and  all  in  a  rapid 
and  disjointed  manner ;  and  the  party  proceeded  out  of 
the  house,' Mrs.  Manlius  first  shutting  and  opening  va 
rious  doors,  according  to  some  intricate  system  of  ven 
tilation  and  heating. 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  27 


CHAPTER  II. 

NICHOLAS  gave  his  arm  to  his  aunt,  and,  though 
anxious  to  speak  of  many  things,  could  hardly  slip  a 
word  into  the  crevices  of  her  conversation ;  nor  then 
did  his  questions  or  answers  bring  much  satisfactory  re 
sponse.  He  was  confused  with  various  thoughts,  una 
ble  to  explain  the  random  talk  of  his  companion,  and 
yet  getting  such  glimpses  of  the  dreary  life  she  had  led 
as  made  him  resolve  to  give  her  a  home  that  should  ad 
mit  more  sunshine  into  her  daily  experience. 

They  were  not  kept  waiting  long  at  Miss  Fix's  door, 
for  a  ruddy  German  girl  opened  it  at  their  summons; 
and,  once  inside,  Miss  Fix  herself  came  forward  with 
beaming  face  to  give  them  a  Christmas  eve  greeting. 
Mr.  Manlius  had  intended  making  the  official  announce 
ment  of  the  arrival  of  the  new  nephew,  but  was  no 
match  for  the  ready  Mrs.  Starkey,  who  at  once  seized 
upon  their  hostess,  and  shook  her  warmly  by  the  hand, 
pouring  out  a  confused  and  not  over-accurate  account 
of  her  good  fortune,  mixing  in  various  details  of  her 
personal  affairs.  Miss  Fix,  however,  made  out  the 
mam  fact,  and  turned  to  Nicholas,  welcoming  him  with 
both  hands,  and  in  the  same  breath  congratulating  Mrs. 
Starkey,  showing  such  honest,  whole-souled  delight  that 
Nicholas  for  a  moment  let  loose  in  his  mind  a  half- 
wish  that  Miss  Fix  had  proved  to  be  his  aunt,  so  much 
more  nearly  did  she  approach  his  ideal.  The  whole 
party  stood  basking  for  a  moment  in  Miss  Fix's  Christ- 


28  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

mas  greeting,  then  extricated  themselves  from  their 
wrappers  with  the  help  of  their  bustling  hostess,  and 
were  ushered  into  her  little  parlor,  where  they  proved 
to  be  the  first  arrivals.  It  was  almost  like  sitting  down 
in  an  arbor ;  for  walls  and  ceiling  were  quite  put  out  of 
sight  by  the  evergreen  dressing ;  the  candlesticks  and 
picture-frames  seemed  to  have  budded ;  and  even  the 
poker  had  laid  aside  its  constitutional  stiffness,  and  un 
bent  itself  in  a  miraculous  spiral  of  creeping  vine.  Mr. 
Manlius  looked  about  him  with  the  air  of  a  connoisseur, 
and  complimented  Miss  Fix. 

"  A  very  pretty  room,  Miss  Pix,  —  a  very  pretty 
room !  Quite  emblematical !  "  And  he  cocked  his 
head  at  some  new  point. 

"  Oh,  I  can't  have  my  Christmas  without  greens  !  " 
said  Miss  Pix.  "  Christmas  and  greens,  you  know,  is 
the  best  dish  in  the  world.  Isn't  it,  Mrs.  Starkey  ?" 

But  Mrs.  Starkey  had  no  need  of  a  question  ;  for 
she  had  already  started  on  her  career  as  a  member  of 
the  party,  and  was  galloping  over  a  boundless  field  of 
observation. 

There  was  just  then  another  ring ;  and  Miss  Pix 
started  for  the  door,  in  her  eagerness  to  greet  her  vis 
itors,  but  recollected  in  season  the  tribute  which  she 
must  pay  to  the  by-laws  of  society,  and  hovered  about 
the  parlor  door  till  Gretchen  could  negotiate  between 
the  two  parties.  Gretchen's  pleased  exclamation  in 
her  native  tongue  at  once  indicated  the  nature  of  the 
arrival ;  and  Miss  Pix,  whispering  loudly  to  Mrs. 
Manlius,  "  My  musical  friends,"  again  rushed  forward, 
and  received  her  friends  almost  noisily  ;  for  when  they 
went  stamping  about  the  entry  to  shake  off  the  snow 
from  their  feet  against  the  inhospitable  world  outside, 
she  also,  in  the  excess  of  her  sympathetic  delight, 
caught  herself  stamping  her  little  foot.  There  was  a 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  29 

hurly-burly,  and  then  they  all  entered  the  parlor  in 
a  procession,  preceded  by  Miss  Fix,  who  announced 
them  severally  to  her  guests  as  Mr.  Pfeiffer,  Mr. 
Pfeffendorf,  Mr.  Schmauker,  and  Mr.  Windgraff. 
Everybody  bowed  at  once,  and  rose  to  the  surface, 
hopelessly  ignorant  of  the  name  and  condition  of  all 
the  rest,  except  his  or  her  immediate  friends.  The 
four  musical  gentlemen  especially  entirely  lost  their 
names  in  the  confusion  ;  and  as  they  looked  very  much 
alike,  it  was  hazardous  to  address  them,  except  upon 
general  and  public  grounds. 

Mrs.  Starkey  was  the  most  bewildered,  and  also  the 
most  bent  upon  setting  herself  right,  —  a  task  which 
promised  to  occupy  the  entire  evening.  "  Which  is 
the  fifer  ?  "  she  asked  Nicholas  ;  but  he  could  not  tell 
her,  and  she  appealed  in  vain  to  the  others.  Perhaps 
it  was  as  well,  since  it  served  as  an  unfailing  resource 
with  her  through  the  evening.  When  nothing  else 
occupied  her  attention,  she  would  fix  her  eyes  upon 
one  of  the  four,  and  walk  around  till  she  found  some 
one  disengaged  enough  to  label  him,  if  possible ;  and  as 
the  gentlemen  had  much  in  common,  while  Mrs.  Stark- 
ey's  memory  was  confused,  there  was  always  room  for 
more  light. 

Miss  Pix  meanwhile  had  disentangled  Nicholas  from 
Mrs.  Starkey,  and,  as  one  newly  arrived  in  the  court, 
was  recounting  to  him  the  origin  of  her  party. 

"  You  see,  Mr.  Judge,  I  have  only  lived  here  a  few 
weeks.  I  had  to  leave  my  old  house  ;  and  I  took  a 
great  liking  to  this  little  court,  and  especially  to  this 
little  house  in  it.  '  What  a  delightful  little  snuggery  ! ' 
thought  I.  '  Here  one  can  be  right  by  the  main  streets, 
and  yet  be  quiet  all  day  and  evening.'  And  that 's  what 
I  want ;  because,  you  see,  I  have  scholars  to  come  and 
take  music-lessons  of  me.  '  And  then/  I  thought  to 


30  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

myself,  '  I  can  have  four  neighbors  right  in  the  same 
yard,  you  may  say.'  Well,  here  I  came ;  but  —  do 
you  believe  it?  —  hardly  anybody  even  looked  out  of 
the  window  when  the  furniture-carts  came  up,  and  I 
could  n't  tell  who  lived  in  any  house.  Why,  I  was  here 
three  weeks,  and  nobody  came  to  see  me.  I  might 
have  been  sick,  and  nobody  would  have  known  it." 
Here  little  Miss  Fix  shook  her  head  ruefully  at  the 
vision  of  herself  sick  and  alone.  "  I  've  seen  what  that 
is,"  she  added,  with  a  mysterious  look.  " '  Well,  now,' 
I  said  to  myself,  '  I  can't  live  like  this.  It  is  n't  Chris 
tian.  I  don't  believe  but  the  people  in  the  court  could 
get  along  with  me,  if  they  knew  me.'  Well,  they 
did  n't  come,  and  they  did  n't  come ;  so  I  got  tired,  and 
one  day  I  went  round  and  saw  them  all,  —  no,  I  didn't 
see  the  old  gentleman  in  Number  One  that  time.  Will 
you  believe  it?  not  a  soul  knew  anybody  else  in  any 
house  but  their  own !  I  was  amazed,  and  I  said  to 
myself,  '  Betsey  Fix,  you  've  got  a  mission  ; '  and,  Mr. 
Judge,  I  went  on  that  mission.  I  made  up  my  mind 
to  ask  all  the  people  in  the  court,  who  could  possibly 
come,  to  have  a  Christmas  eve  gathering  in  my  house. 
I  got  them  all,  except  the  Crimps,  in  Number  Two,  who 
would  not,  do  what  I  could.  Then  I  asked  four  of  my 
friends  to  come  and  bring  their  instruments ;  for  there  's 
nothing  like  music  to  melt  people  together.  But,  oh, 
Mr.  Judge,  not  one  house  knows  that  another  house  in 
the  court  is  to  be  here;  and,  oh,  Mr.  Judge,  I've  got 
such  a  secret ! "  And  here  Miss  Fix's  cork  flew  to  the 
ceiling,  in  the  manner  hinted  at  by  Mr.  Paul  Le  Clear ; 
while  Nicholas  felt  himself  to  have  known  Miss  Fix 
from  birth,  and  to  be,  in  a  special  manner,  her  prime- 
minister  on  this  evening. 

It  was  not  long  before  there  was  another  ring,  and 
Mr.  Le  Clear  appeared,  who  received  the  jiggoty  Miss 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  31 

Fix's  welcome  in  a  smiling  and  well-bred  manner,  and 
suffered  himself  to  be  introduced  to  the  various  persons 
present,  when  all  seized  the  new  opportunity  to  discover 
the  names  of  the  musical  gentlemen,  and  fasten  them  to 
the  right  owners.  Paul  laughed  when  he  saw  Nicholas, 
and  spoke  to  him  as  an  old  acquaintance.  Miss  Fix 
was  suddenly  in  great  alarm,  and,  beckoning  away 
Nicholas,  whispered,  "  Don't  for  the  world  tell  him 
where  the  others  live."  Like  the  prime-minister  with 
a  state-secret,  Nicholas  went  back  to  Paul,  and  spent 
the  next  few  minutes  in  the  trying  task  of  answering 
leading  questions  with  misleading  answers. 

"  I  see,"  said  the  acute  Mr.  Le  Clear  to  himself ; 
"  the  aunt  is  that  marplotty  dame  who  has  turned  our 
young  Judge  into  a  prisoner  at  the  bar ; "  and  he  en 
tered  into  conversation  with  Mrs.  Starkey  with  great 
alacrity,  finding  her  a  very  ripe  cucumber.  Mr.  Man- 
lius,  who  was  talking,  in  easy  words  of  two  sjdlables,  to 
the  musical  gentlemen,  overheard  some  of  Mrs.  Starkey's 
revelations  to  Mr.  Le  Clear,  and,  watching  his  oppor 
tunity,  got  Paul  into  a  corner,  where  he  favored  him 
with  some  confidences  respecting  the  lady. 

"You  may  have  thought,  sir,"  said  he,  in  a  whisper, 
"  that  Mrs.  Starkey  is  —  is,"  —  and  he  filled  out  the 
sentence  with  an  expressive  gesture  toward  his  own 
well-balanced  head. 

"  Not  at  all,"  said  Paul,  politely. 

"  She  is  periodically  affected,"  continued  Mr.  Man- 
lius,  "  with  what  I  may  perhaps  call  excessive  and  ill- 
balanced  volubility.  Mrs.  Starkey,  sir,  is  a  quiet  per 
son,  rarely  speaking;  but  once  in  five  or  six  weeks, — 
the  periods  do  not  return  with  exact  regularity,  —  she 
is  subject  to  some  hidden  influence,  which  looses  her 
tongue,  as  it  were.  I  think  she  is  under  the  influence 
now,  and  her  words  are  not  likely  to  —  to  correspond 


32  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

exactly  with  existing  facts.  You  will  not  be  surprised, 
then,  at  her  words.  They  are  only  words,  words.  At 
other  times  she  is  a  woman  of  action.  She  has  a  won 
derful  character,  sir." 

"  Quite  a  phenomenon,  indeed,  I  should  say,"  said 
Paul,  ready  to  return  to  so  interesting  a  person,  but 
politely  suffering  Mr.  Manlius  to  flow  on,  which  he  did 
uninterruptedly. 

Doctor  Chocker  was  the  last  to  come.  Miss  Fix 
knew  his  infirmity,  and  contented  herself  with  mute, 
but  expressive  signs,  until  the  old  gentleman  could  ad 
just  his  trumpet  and  receive  her  hearty  congratulations. 
He  jerked  out  a  response,  which  Miss  Fix  received  with 
as  much  delight  as  if  he  had  flowed  freely,  like  Mr. 
Manlius,  who  was  now  playing  upon  Mr.  Le  Clear  an 
analysis  of  Nicholas's  character,  which  he  had  read  with 
unerring  accuracy,  as  Mrs.  Manlius  testified  by  her  con 
tinued,  unreserved  agreement.  Indeed,  the  finding  of 
his  aunt  by  Nicholas  in  so  unexpected  a  manner  was  the 
grand  topic  of  the  evening ;  and  the  four  musical  gen 
tlemen,  hearing  the  story  in  turn  from  each  of  the 
others,  were  now  engaged  in  a  sort  of  diatessaron,  in 
which  the  four  accounts  were  made  to  harmonize  with 
considerable  difficulty :  Mr.  Schmauker  insisting  upon 
his  view,  that  Nicholas  had  arrived  wet  and  hungry, 
was  found  on  the  doorstep,  and  dragged  in  by  Mrs. 
Starkey;  while  Mr.  Pfeffendorf  and  Mr.  Pfeiffer  sub 
stituted  Mrs.  Manlius  for  Mrs.  Starkey;  and  Mr.  Wind- 
graff  proposed  an  entirely  new  reading. 

Dr.  Checker's  entrance  created  a  lull;  and  the  intro 
duction,  performed  in  a  general  way  by  the  hostess, 
brought  little  information  to  the  rest,  who  were  hoping 
to  revise  their  list  of  names,  —  and  very  little  to  the 
Doctor,  who  looked  about  inquisitively,  as  Miss  Pix 
dropped  the  company  in  a  heap  into  his  ear-trumpet. 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  33 

His  eye  lighted  on  Nicholas,  and  he  went  forward  to 
meet  him,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  company,  who 
looked  upon  Nicholas  as  belonging  exclusively  to  them. 
A  new  theory  was  at  once  broached  by  Mr.  Windgraff 
to  his  companions,  that  Dr.  Checker  had  brought  about 
the  recognition  ;  but  it  lost  credit  as  the  Doctor  began 
to  question  Nicholas,  in  an  abrupt  way,  upon  his  pres 
ence  there. 

"  Did  n't  know  I  should  meet  you  again,  young  man," 
said  he.  "  But  you  don't  take  my  advice,  eh  ?  or  you. 
would  n't  have  been  here.  But  I  'm  setting  you  a  pretty 
example  !  This  is  n't  the  way  to  study  the  value  of 
words,  eh  Mr.  —  Mr.  —  Le  Clear  ?  " 

The  real  Mr.  Le  Clear  and  his  fiction  looked  at  each, 
other,  and  by  a  rapid  interchange  of  glances  signified 
their  inability  to  extricate  themselves  from  the  snarl, 
except  by  a  dangerous  cut,  which  Nicholas  had  not  the 
courage  at  the  moment  to  give.  The  rest  of  the  com 
pany  were  mystified ;  and  Mr.  Manlius,  pocketing  the 
character  which  he  had  just  been  giving,  free  of  charge, 
to  his  new  acquaintance,  turned  to  his  wife,  and  whis-- 
pered  awfully,  "  An  impostor,  Caroline  !  "  Mrs.  Manlius 
looked  anxiously  and  frightened  back  to  him  ;  but  he 
again  whispered,  "  Wait  for  further  developments,  Car 
oline  ! "  and  she  sank  into  a  state  of  terrified  curiosity. 
Fortunately,  Mrs.  Starkey  was  at  the  moment  confiding 
much  that  was  irrelevant  to  Mr.  Le  Clear  the  actual, 
who  did  not  call  her  attention  to  the  words.  The  four 
musical  gentlemen  were  divided  upon  the  accuracy  of 
their  hearing. 

Miss  Pix,  who  had  been  bustling  about,  unconscious 
of  the  mystery,  now  created  a  diversion  by  saying,  some 
what  flurried  by  the  silence  that  followed  her  first 
words,  — 

3 


84  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  Our  musical  friends  have  brought  a  pleasant  little 
surprise  for  us ;  but,  Mr.  Pfeiffer,  won't  you  explain 
the  Children's  Symphony  to  the  performers?" 

Everybody  at  once  made  a  note  of  Mr.  Pfeiffer,  and 
put  a  private  mark  on  him  for  future  reference  ;  while 
he  good-humoredly,  and  with  embarrassing  English, 
explained  that  Miss  Pix  had  proposed  that  the  company 
should  produce  Haydn's  Children's  Symphony,  in  which 
the  principal  parts  were  sustained  by  four  stringed  in 
struments,  which  he  and  his  friends  would  play  ;  while 
children's  toy-instruments,  which  the  other  three  were 
cow  busily  taking  out  of  a  box,  would  be  distributed 
among  the  rest  of  the  company ;  and  Miss  Pix  would 
act  as  leader,  designating  to  each  his  or  her  part,  and 
time  of  playing. 

The  proposal  created  considerable  confusion  in  the 
company,  especially  when  the  penny-trumpet,  drum, 
cuckoo,  night-owl,  quail,  rattle,  and  whistle  were  ex 
hibited,  and  gleefully  tried  by  the  four  musical  friends. 
Mr.  Manlius  eyed  the  penny-trumpet  which  was  offered 
him  with  a  doubtful  air,  but  concluded  to  sacrifice  his 
dignity  for  the  good  of  the  company.  Mrs.  Manlius 
received  her  cuckoo  nervously,  as  if  it  would  break 
forth  in  spite  of  her,  and  looked  askance  at  Nicholas  to 
see  if  he  would  dare  to  take  the  night-owl  into  his  per 
jured  hands.  He  did  take  it  with  great  good-humor, 
and,  at  Miss  Pix's  request,  undertook  to  persuade  Doc 
tor  Chocker  to  blow  the  whistle.  He  had  first  to  give 
a  digest  of  Mr.  Pfeiffer's  speech  into  the  ear-trumpet, 
and,  it  is  feared,  would  have  failed  to  bring  the  Doctor 
round  without  Miss  Pix,  who  came  up  at  the  critical 
moment,  and  told  him  that  she  knew  he  must  have 
known  how  when  he  was  a  boy,  accompanied  with  such 
persuasive  frolicking  that  the  Doctor  at  once  signified 
his  consent  and  his  proficiency  by  blowing  a  blast  into 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  35 

Nicholas's  ear,  whom  he  regarded  as  a  special  enemy 
on  good  terms  with  him,  to  the  great  merriment  of 
all. 

The  signal  was  given,  and  the  company  looked  at 
Miss  Fix,  awaiting  their  turn  with  anxious  solicitude. 
The  symphony  passed  off  quite  well,  though  Mr.  Le 
Clear,  who  managed  the  drum,  was  the  only  one  who 
kept  perfect  time.  Mrs.  Starkey,  who  held  the  rattle 
aloft,  sprung  it  at  the  first  sound  of  the  music,  and  con 
tinued  to  spring  it  in  spite  of  the  expostulations  and 
laughter  of  the  others.  Mrs.  Manlius,  unable  to  follow 
Miss  Fix's  excited  gestures,  turned  to  her  husband,  and 
uttered  the  cuckoo's  doleful  note  whenever  he  blew  his 
trumpet,  which  he  did  deliberately  at  regular  intervals. 
The  effect,  however,  was  admirable ;  and  as  the  entire 
company  was  in  the  orchestra,  the  mutual  satisfaction 
was  perfect,  and  the  piece  was  encored  vociferously,  to 
the  delight  of  little  Miss  Fix,  who  enjoyed  without  limit 
the  melting  of  her  company,  which  was  now  going  on 
rapidly.  It  continued  even  when  the  music  had  stopped, 
and  Gretchen,  very  red,  but  intensely  interested,  brought 
in  some  coffee  and  cakes,  which  she  distributed  under 
Miss  Fix's  direction.  Nicholas  shared  the  good  lady's 
pleasure,  and  addressed  himself  to  his  aunt  with  in 
creased  attention,  taking  good  care  to  avoid  Doctor 
Checker,  who  submitted  more  graciously  than  would  be 
supposed  to  a  steady  play  from  Mr.  Manlius's  hose. 
Mr.  Pfeiffer  and  his  three  musical  friends  made  them 
selves -merry  with  Mrs.  Manlius  and  Miss  Fix,  while 
Mr.  Le  Clear  walked  about  performing  chemical  ex 
periments  upon  the  whole  company. 

And  now  Miss  Fix,  who  had  been  all  the  while  glow 
ing  more  and  more  with  sunshine  in  her  face,  again 
addressed  the  company,  and  said  :  — 

"  I  think  the  best  thing  should  be  kept  till  toward 


36  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

the  end ;  and  I  've  got  a  scheme  that  I  want  you  all  to 
help  me  in.  We  're  all  neighbors  here,"  —  and  she 
looked  round  upon  the  company  with  a  smile  that  grew 
broader,  while  they  all  looked  surprised,  and  began  to 
smile  back  in  ignorant  sympathy,  except  Doctor  Chock- 
er,  who  did  not  hear  a  word,  and  refused  to  smile  till 
he  knew  what  it  was  for.  "  Yes,  we  are  all  neighbors. 
Doctor  Checker  lives  in  Number  One ;  Mr.  Le  Clear 
lives  in  Number  Two;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Manlius,  Mrs. 
Starkey,  and  Mr.  Judge  are  from  Number  Three ;  my 
musical  friends  live  within  easy  call ;  and  I  live  in 
Number  Five." 

Here  she  looked  round  again  triumphantly,  and  found 
them  all  properly  astonished,  and  apparently  very  con 
tented,  except  Doctor  Chocker,  who  was  immovable. 
Nicholas  expressed  the  most  marked  surprise,  as  became 
so  hypocritical  a  prime-minister,  causing  Mr.  Manlius 
to  make  a  private  note  of  some  uurevealed  perjury. 

"Now,"  said  Miss  Fix,  pausing,  and  arresting  the 
profound  attention  of  all,  "  now,  who  lives  iu  Number 
Four?" 

If  she  expected  an  answer,  it  was  plainly  not  locked 
up  in  the  breast  of  any  one  before  her.  But  she  did 
not  expect  an  answer;  she  was  determined  to  give  that 
herself,  and  she  continued:  — 

"  There  is  a  most  excellent  woman  there,  Mrs.  Blake, 
whom  I  should  have  liked  very  much  to  introduce  to 
you  to-night,  especially  as  it  is  her  birthday.  Is  n't  she 
fortunate  to  have  been  born  on  Christmas  eve  ?  Well, 
I  did  n't  ask  her,  because  she  is  not  able  to  leave  her 
room.  There  she  has  sat,  or  lain,  for  fifteen  years ! 
She  's  a  confirmed  invalid  ;  but  she  can  see  her  friends. 
And  now  for  my  little  scheme.  I  want  to  give  her  a 
surprise-parjy  from  all  her  neighbors,  and  I  want  to 
give  it  now.  It 's  all  right.  Gretcheu  has  seen  her 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  37 

maid,  and  Mrs.  Blake  knows  just  enough  to  be  willing 
to  have  me  bring  a  few  friends." 

Miss  Pix  looked  about,  with  a  little  anxiety  peeping 
out  of  her  good-souled,  eager  face.  But  the  company 
was  so  melted  down  that  she  could  now  mould  it  at 
pleasure,  and  no  opposition  was  made.  Mr.  Manlius 
volunteered  to  enlighten  Doctor  Chocker  ;  but  he  made 
so  long  a  preamble  that  the  old  scholar  turned,  with 
considerable  impatience,  to  Miss  Pix,  who  soon  put  him 
in  good  humor,  and  secured  his  cooperation,  though  not 
without  his  indulging  in  some  sinful  and  unneighborly 
remarks  to  Nicholas. 

It  proved  unnecessary  to  go  into  the  court,  for  these 
two  houses  happened  to  have  a  connection,  which  Miss 
Pix  made  use  of,  the  door  having  been  left  open  all 
the  evening,  that  Mrs.  Blake  might  catch  some  whiffs 
of  the  entertainment.  Gretchen  appeared  in  the  door 
way,  bearing  on  a  salver  a  great  cake,  made  with  her 
own  hands,  having  Mrs.  Blake's  initials,  in  colored  let 
ters,  on  the  frosting,  and  the  whole  surrounded  by  fifty 
little  wax  tapers,  indicating  her  age,  which  all  counted, 
and  all  counted  differently,  giving  opportunity  to  the 
four  musical  friends  to  enter  upon  a  fresh  and  lively 
discussion.  The  party  was  marshaled  by  Miss  Pix  in 
the  order  of  houses,  while  she  herself  squeezed  past 
them  all  on  the  staircase,  to  usher  them  into  Mrs.  Blake's 
presence. 

Mrs.  Blake  was  sitting  in  her  reclining-chair  as  Miss 
Pix  entered  with  her  retinue.  The  room  was  in  per 
fect  order,  and  had  about  it  such  an  air  of  neatness  and 
purity  that  one  felt  one's  self  in  a  haven  of  rest  upon 
crossing  the  threshold.  The  invalid  sat  quiet  and  at 
ease,  looking  forth  upon  the  scene  before  her  as  it'  so 
safely  moored  that  no  troubling  of  the  elements  could 
ever  reach  her.  Here  had  she  lived,  year  after  year, 


38  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

almost  alone  with  herself,  though  now  the  big-souled  lit 
tle  music-teacher  was  her  constant  visitor ;  but  the  en 
trance  of  all  her  neighbors  seemed  in  no  wise  to  agitate 
her  placid  demeanor.  She  greeted  Miss  Pix  with  a 
pleased  smile  ;  and  all  being  now  in  the  room,  the  bust 
ling  little  woman,  at  the  very  zenith  of  her  sunny 
course,  took  her  stand  and  said,  — 

"  This  is  my  company,  dear  Mrs.  Blake.  These  are 
all  neighbors  of  ours,  living  in  the  court,  or  close  by. 
We  have  been  having  a  right  merry  time,  and  now  we 
can't  break  up  without  bringing  you  our  good  wishes,  — 
our  Christmas  good  wishes,  and  our  birthday  good 
wishes,"  said  Miss  Pix,  with  a  little  oratorical  flourish, 
which  brought  Gretchen  to  the  front  with  her  illumi 
nated  cake,  which  she  positively  could  not  have  held 
another  moment,  so  heavy  had  it  grown,  even  for  her 
stout  arms. 

Mrs.  Blake  laughed  gently  and  with  a  delighted 
look  examined  the  great  cake,  with  her  initials,  and  did 
not  need  to  count  the  wax  tapers.  It  was  placed  on  a 
stand,  and  she  said,  — 

"  Now  I  should  like  to  entertain  my  guests,  and,  if 
you  will  let  me,  I  will  give  you  each  a  piece  of  my 
cake,  —  for  it  all  belongs  to  me,  after  Miss  Pix's  grace 
ful  presentation  ;  and  if  Miss  Pix  will  be  so  good,  I 
will  ask  her  to  make  me  personally  acquainted  with 
each  of  you." 

So  a  knife  was  brought,  and  Mrs.  Blake  cut  a  gen 
erous  piece,  when  Doctor  Chocker  was  introduced,  with 
great  gesticulation  on  the  part  of  Miss  Pix. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you,  Doctor  Chocker,"  said  Mrs. 
Blake,  distinctly,  but  quietly,  into  his  trumpet.  "  Do 
you  let  your  patients  eat  cake  ?  Try  this,  and  see  if 
it  is  n't  good  for  me." 

"  If  I  were  a  doctor  of  medicine,"  said  he,  jerkily, 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  39 

"  I  should  bring  my  patients  to  see  you  ;  "  at  which 
Miss  Fix  nodded  to  him  most  vehemently,  and  the 
Doctor  wagged  his  ear-trumpet  in  delight  at  the  retort 
which  he  thought  he  had  made. 

Mr.  Le  Clear  was  introduced,  and  took  his  cake 
gracefully,  saying,  "  I  hope  another  year  will  see  you 
at  a  Christmas-party  of  Miss  Fix's  ;  "  but  Mrs.  Blake 
smiled,  and  said,  "  This  is  my  little  lot  of  earth,  and  I 
am  sure  there  is  a  patch  of  stars  above." 

Mr.  Manlius  and  wife  came  up  together,  he  some 
what  lumbering,  as  if  Mrs.  Blake's  character  were  too 
much  for  his  discernment,  and  Mrs.  Munlius  not  quite 
sure  of  herself  when  her  husband  seemed  embar 
rassed. 

"  This  is  really  too  funny,"  said  Mrs.  Blake,  merrily ; 
"  as  if  I  were  a  very  benevolent  person,  doling  out  my 
charity  of  cake  on  Christmas  eve.  Do,  Mi-.  Manlius, 
take  a  large  piece  ;  and  I  am  sure  your  wife  will  take 
some  home  to  the  children." 

"  What  wonderful  insight  !  "  said  Mr.  Manlius, 
turning  about  to  Nicholas,  and  drawing  in  his  breath. 
"  We  have  children,  —  two.  That  woman  has  a  deep 
character,  Mr.  Judge." 

"  Mrs.  Starkey,  also  of  Number  Three,"  said  the 
mistress  of  ceremonies  ;  "  and  Mr.  Nicholas  Judge,  ar 
rived  only  this  evening." 

"•Nicholas  Judge ! "  said  Mrs.  Blake,  losing  the 
color  which  the  excitement  had  brought,  and  dropping 
the  knife. 

"  My  nephew,"  explained  Mrs.  Starkey.  "  Just 
came  this  evening,  and  found  me  at  home.  Never  saw 
him  before.  Must  tell  you  all  about  it."  And  she  was 
plunging  with  alacrity  into  the  delightful  subject,  with 
all  its  variations. 

Mrs.  Blake  looked  at  Nicholas,  while  the  color  came 
and  went  in  her  cheeks. 


40  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  Stop !  "  said  she,  decisively,  to  Mrs.  Starkey,  and 
half  rising,  she  leaned  forward  to  Nicholas,  and  said 
rapidly,  with  an  energy  which  seemed  to  be  summoned 
from  every  part  of  her  system,  — 

"  Are  you  the  son  of  Alice  Brown  Judge  ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  Nicholas,  tumultuously  ;  "  and  you, 

—  you  are  her  sister.     I  see  it,  I  see  it.     It  must  be 
so.     You   are  my  Aunt  Eunice,"  he  exclaimed,  as  she 
sank  back  in  her  chair  exhausted,  but  reaching  out  her 
arms  to  him. 

"  That  young  man  is  a  base  impostor  ! "  said  Mr. 
Manlius  aloud,  with  his  hand  in  his  waistcoat ;  while 
Mrs.  Manlius  looked  on  deprecatingly,  but  as  if  too,  too 
aware  of  the  sad  fact.  "  I  said  so  to  my  wife  in  private, 

—  I  read  it  in  his  face,  —  and  now  I  declare  it  publicly. 
That  man  is  a  base  impostor ! " 

"  Dear,  dear,  I  don't  understand  it  at  all !  "  said  the 
unfortunate  Mrs.  Starkey.  "  I  thought,  to  be  sure, 
that  Nicholas  was  my  nephew.  Never  saw  him  before, 
but  he  said  he  was ;  and  now,  now,  I  don't  know  what 
I  shall  do  ! "  and  the  poor  lady,  suddenly  bereft  of  her 
fortune,  began  to  wipe  her  moist  eyes  ;  "  but  perhaps," 
she  added,  with  a  bright,  though  transient  gleam  of 
hope,  "  we  are  both  aunts  to  him." 

"  That  cannot  be,"  said  Nicholas,  kindly,  who  left  his 
aunt  to  set  the  company  right,  if  possible.  "  My  dear 
friend,"  he  said,  taking  Mrs.  Starkey's  hand,  "  it  has 
been  a  mistake,  brought  on  by  my  heedlessness.  I 
knew  only  that  my  aunt's  name  had  been  Eunice 
Brown.  It  chanced  that  yours  was  the  same  name. 
I  happened  to  come  upon  you  first  in  my  search,  and 
did  not  dream  it  possible  that  there  could  be  two  in  the 
same  court.  Everything  seemed  to  tally ;  and  I  was 
too  pleased  at  finding  the  only  relation  I  had  in  the 
wide  world  to  ask  many  questions.  But  when  I  saw 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  41 

that  my  aunt  knew  who  I  was,  and  saw  the  likeness 
between  her  and  the  picture  I  had  seen  of  my  mother,  I 
perceived  my  mistake  at  once.  We  will  remain  friends, 
though,  —  shall  we  not  ?  " 

Mrs.  Starkey  was  too  much  bewildered  to  refuse  any 
compromise ;  but  Mr.  Manlius  stepped  forward,  having 
his  claim  as  a  private  officer  of  justice. 

"  I  must  still  demand  an  explanation,  sir ;  how  it  is 
that  in  this  mixed  assembly  the  learned  Dr.  Chocker 
addresses  you  as  Mr.  Le  Clear,  and  you  not  decline  the 
title ;  "  and  Mr.  Manlius  looked,  as  if  for  a  witness,  to 
Doctor  Chocker,  who  was  eating  his  cake  with  great 
solemnity,  holding  his  ear-trumpet  in  hopes  of  catching 
an  occasional  word. 

"  That  would  require  too  long  an  explanation,"  said 
Nicholas,  smiling ;  "  but  you  shall  have  it  some  time  in 
private.  Mr.  Le  Clear  himself  will  no  doubt  tell  you ; " 
which  Mr.  Le  Clear,  an  amused  spectator  of  the  scene, 
cheerfully  promised  to  do. 

The  company  had  been  so  stirred  up  by  this  reve 
lation,  that  they  came  near  retreating  at  once  to  Miss 
Fix's  to  talk  it  over,  to  the  dismay  of  the  four  musical 
gentlemen,  who  had  not  yet  been  presented,  and  espe 
cially  who  had  not  yet  got  any  cake.  Miss  Pix,  though 
in  a  transport  of  joy,  had  an  eye  for  everything,  and, 
discovering  this,  insisted  on  presenting  them  in  a  body 
to  Mrs.  Blake,  in  consideration  of  her  fatigue.  They 
bowed  simultaneously,  and  stood  before  her  like  bash 
ful  school-boys ;  while  Nicholas  assumed  the  knife  in 
behalf  of  his  aunt,  distributing  with  equal  liberality, 
when  they  retired  in  high  glee  over  the  new  version  of 
his  history,  which  Mr.  Schmauker  for  the  sake  of  dis 
playing  his  acumen,  stoutly  declared  to  be  spurious. 
Gretchen  also  was  served  with  a  monstrous  slice ;  and 


42  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

then  the  company  bade  good-by  to  the  aunt  and  nephew, 
who  began  anew  their  glad  recognition. 

It  was  a  noisy  set  of  people  who  left  Miss  Fix's 
house.  That  little  lady  stood  in  the  door-way,  and  sent 
off  each  with  such  a  merry  blessing  that  it  lasted  long 
after  the  doors  of  the  other  houses  were  closed. 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  43 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  intelligence  office  of  Mr.  Soprian  Manlius  was 
in  a  building  that  bore  upon  its  front  in  gilt  letters, 
the  sign  TEMPLE,  though  to  what  purposes  it  was  sa 
cred,  or  how  it  was  less  secular  than  the  adjoining 
buildings,  a  stranger  might  find  it  hard  to  guess.  Per 
haps,  seeing  in  a  window  by  the  entrance  an  assort 
ment  of  legs  and  arms  jauntily  arranged,  he  might 
fancy  that  the  devotees  of  the  Temple  had  left  on  ex 
hibition  such  members  as  they  had  been  willing  to  sac 
rifice  for  conscience'  sake.  A  little  farther  on  would 
appear  another  window  set  off  with  watches  and  other 
personal  jewelry,  deposited,  it  might  be,  as  votive  offer 
ings.  Yet  again  a  window  displaying  a  great  variety 
of  medicines  and  tempting  decoctions  might  lead  the 
puzzled  stranger  to  think  that  he  was  standing  before 
the  Temple  of  Health ;  but  then,  why  the  musical  in 
struments  in  the  window  just  beyond  ?  were  they  in 
readiness  so  that  the  sick  man  entering  the  Temple  and 
issuing  forth  as  soon  as  he  had  swallowed  the  life-giv 
ing  root,  might  at  once  seize  upon  some  brazen  trumpet 
to  proclaim  his  cure  and  give  expression  to  his  joy  ? 
Nor  would  one,  penetrating  the  interior,  discover  at 
first  sight  many  signs  of  special  sanctity.  Going  to 
different  doors,  opening  upon  inner  shrines,  he  could 
have  his  teeth  drawn  one  by  one,  and  if  this  should  irri 
tate  him,  he  would  find  -at  hand  an  electrical  room 
where  he  could  be  magnetically  soothed. 


44  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

In  one  of  the  innermost  recesses  of  this  Temple  was 
the  oracle  of  Manlius,  advertised  to  give  forth  daily 
responses  between  the  hours  of  eight  A.  M.  and  six  P.M. 
Hither  nocked  anxious  persons  who  often  went  away, 
like  the  votaries  of  old,  sadder  but  not  wiser  than 
when  they  came.  Ambiguous  responses  were  given 
out  by  the  oracle.  Mr.  Manlius  threw  an  air  of  mys 
tery  over  his  cave  by  issuing  forth  at  the  sound  of  an 
approaching  visitor  and  holding  first  a  parley  outside 
the  door.  He  seemed  to  say,  "  I  have  in  that  office 
untold  treasure  of  servants  worth  their  weight  in  gold. 
I  dare  not  expose  them  at  once  to  the  temptation  of 
the  outer  world."  If  the  parley  promised  to  be  satis 
factory,  then  he  would  summon  one  after  another  and 
allow  them  in  his  presence  to  be  catechised. 

About  a  fortnight  after  the  Christmas  surprise  in 
Five-Sisters  Court,  at  the  close  of  an  afternoon,  Mr. 
Manlius,  sitting  in  the  midst  of  his  flock,  heard  steps  in 
the  hall  and  at  once  moved  out,  encountering  there  his 
new  neighbor,  Nicholas  Judge.  Something,  either 
within  himself  or  outside  Mr.  Manlius,  told  Nicholas 
that  he  was  not  especially  welcome,  for  he  hastened  to 
address  him  with  a  half  apology. 

"  I  'm  afraid  I  don't  stand  in  need  of  your  profes 
sional  services,  Mr.  Manlius.  I  just  dropped  in  on 
my  way  to  the  court,  as  it  was  about  your  hour  of 
closing.  Have  you  had  a  busy  day  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Mr.  Judge,"  said  the  intelligence  officer,  "  a 
very  busy  day.  The  demand  for  first-class  girls  con 
tinues  unabated.  We  're'  scouring  the  country  for 
help.  Mr.  Sope,  my  paid  agent  in  Nova  Scotia,  writes 
that  he  has  shipped  ten  cooks  per  steamer ;  they  will 
arrive  on  the  tenth.  You  're  not  wanting  a  cook,  Mr. 
Judge?" 

Nicholas    shook   his    head.      "  We  get  along  very 


FIVE- SISTERS  COURT.  45 

well,"  said  he,  "  with  Hannah.  My  aunt  and  I  do  not 
make  a  large  household  to  care  for." 

"  I  've  got  a  cook  in  there,"  said  Mr.  Mahlius,  low 
ering  his  voice  to  a  mysterious  whisper,  "  that  I  should 
be  'most  afraid  to  let  you  see,  if  you  were  wanting 
one.  She's  perfect,  sir,  but  she  'd  make  you  jump, 
she  'd  make  you  jump." 

"Why,  is  she  so  frightful  looking?"  asked  Nicholas, 
"  or  has  she  some  electric  power  over  people  ?  " 

"  It 's  her  price,"  whispered  Mr.  Manlius,  and  ap 
proaching  Nicholas  for  fear  of  being  overheard  by  the 
paragon  of  cooks,  he  added  "  five  dollars  ! "  and  then 
threw  his  head  back  in  an  artistic  manner,  to  watch  the 
effect  of  his  announcement.  Nicholas  gave  a  hypocrit 
ical  little  start,  proportioned  to  the  amount  which  he 
would  have  jumped  if  the  electric  cook  had  been  in 
Mr.  Manlius's  place,  though  in  his  soul  he  thought  her 
rather  cheap. 

"  But  I  keep  her  safe,"  said  the  officer,  looking  into 
the  office  as  if  to  assure  himself  that  she  had  not  been 
so  startled  by  the  thought  of  her  own  valuation  as  to 
jump  out  of  the  window.  "  I  keep  her  safe  and  I  only 
bring  her  out  when  some  nabob  comes.  Some  nabob." 

At  these  words,  some  one  was  heard  approaching 
and  Mr.  Manlius,  always  expecting  the  nabob  that  was 
to  carry  off  the  five-dollar  prize  without  sustaining  any 
personal  injury  or  undue  elation,  took  advantage  of  his 
companion's  surname  and  giving  a  sonorous  measure  to 
his  voice,  continued  a  hypothetical  conversation. 

"  Well,  Judge,  as  I  was  saying  about  the  cook  and 
the  waiter-girl.  The  cook  has  lived  seventeen  years 
in  one  place,  and  why  does  she  leave  ?  Only  because 
the  master  and  mistress  both  die,  all  at  once,  and  there 
is  no  one  left  in  the  family.  And  the  waiter-girl, 
Judge,"  —  but  at  this  point  the  nabob,  if  it  were  he 


46  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

who  was  approaching,  turned  aside  from  the  pair  and 
entered  the  room  of  one  of  the  dentists  of  the  Temple. 
Whilst  he  was  having  his  teeth  drawn,  Mr.  Manlius 
suspended  his  professional  harangue  and  rather  abruptly 
entered  upon  another  line  of  talk  by  asking,  — 

"  Mr.  Judge,  you  have  been  in  town  now  two  or 
three  weeks  and  have  looked  about  you  a  little ;  what 
business  do  you  propose  to  follow  ?  " 

Nicholas  hesitated  and  with  an  embarrassed  manner, 
replied,  — 

"  I  have  hardly  been  here  long  enough  to  settle  down 
to  anything  yet.  That  is,  I  have  not  yet  connected 
myself  with  any  firm." 

"  And  what  is  your  trade,  sir  ?  "  pursued  Mr.  Man 
lius.  "  What  did  your  father  bring  you  up  to  ?  " 

"  I  think  my  father  never  intended  that  I  should  en 
ter  a  business  life,"  said  Nicholas,  "  my  tastes  were 
somewhat  like  his,  and  led  me  rather  to  the  study  of 
nature." 

"  Then  what  brought  you  to  town  ?  "  asked  his  in 
quisitor,  eying  him  sharply.  "  Nature,  sir,  should  be 
studied  in  the  open  fields,  where  she  may  be  seen  freely 
and  at  all  hours.  But  here,  we  men  of  business  have 
to  suit  ourselves  to  the  public.  I  am  the  slave  of  the 
public,  Judge.  It  comes  all  day  in  carriages  and  I 
have  to  turn  it  away,  and  why  ?  because  it  is  unreason 
able.  Will  you  believe  it,  Judge,  in  that  office  sits  a 
woman,  Martha  Jewmer,  the  cook  I  just  now  men 
tioned,  who  would  be  a  treasure  to  any  family.  In  all 
the  wide  range  of  my  experience,  Judge,  I  never  saw 
a  girl  who  more  completely  came  up  to  the  beau  ideal. 
She  has  just  come  back  to  me,  as  I  said,  simply  be 
cause  the  family  has  died,  and  Judge  "  — -  but  here  the 
flow  of  Mr.  Manlius's  oratory  was  again  turned  off, 
since  the  coming  nabob,  whose  steps  were  heard  just  as 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  47 

the  intelligence  officer  again  took  up  his  professional 
hose,  also  turned  aside  and  entered  the  room  of  the 
Temple's  electrician,  there  to  be  soothed  by  gentle 
prickles.  With  great  facility  Mr.  Manlius  seized 
again  the  social  hose  and  resumed  his  play  upon  Nich 
olas. 

"  But  Mr.  Judge,  where  is  nature  to  be  found  in  the 
city  ?  Will  you  seek  her  in  the  shops  ?  " 

"  I  saw  some  signs  of  her,  as  I  entered  this  building," 
said  Nicholas,  smiling.  "  But  one  can  at  least  make 
some  experiments  in  the  city,  and  I  —  I  have  not  yet 
made  all  my  arrangements,  Mr.  Manlius.  By  the  way, 
how  do  you  all  do  at  home  ?  I  hope  Mrs.  Starkey  is 
well. 

"Mrs.  Starkey  is  well.  She  is  better  than  Mrs. 
Manlius,  Mr.  Judge.  My  wife  sometimes  says  to  me, 
'  Sopriau,  don't  you  think  we  might  afford  to  keep  a 
girl  ? '  and  I  reply,  '  Caroline^  I  would  bring  you  home 
Martha  Jewmer  this  night  if  I  could.  I  would  spare 
no  expense  to  lighten  your  labors,  but  we  have  a  duty 
to  perform  toward  Eunice  Starkey.  We  must  protect 
and  shelter  her,  we  must  feed  and  clothe  her,  and  so 
long  as  that  defenseless  woman  is  under  our  roof,  I  fear 
we  shall  have  to  continue  our  course  of  self-denial.' 
But  virtue  brings  its  reward,  Mr.  Judge,  its  reward," 
and  Mr.  Manlius  gazed  fixedly  toward  the  distant  stair 
case  as  if  he  expected  virtue  to  come  up,  two  steps  at  a 
time  with  a  crown  or  some  other  appropriate  emblem 
with  which  to  deck  his  self-sacrificing  brow.  Again 
was  heard  the  sound  of  approaching  steps  and  again 
the  intelligence  officer,  aroused  from  his  reverie,  took 
up  his  professional  hose. 

"  My  dear  Judge,  you  could  have  that  cook,  because 
I  know  you  for  a  person  of  integrity,  but  the  character 
of  these  girls  is  in  my  hands.  I  see  at  a  glance  when 


48  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

they  come  in  what  sort  they  are,  and  if  they  're  not 
right,  I  say  —  'this  is  no  place  for  you.'  Now,  Martha 
Jewmer  is  true  gold.  Throw  her  down  on  the  counter 
and  she  'd  ring.  No  base  metal  there.  Twenty  years 
experience  has  made  me  an  adept.  I  can  tell  counter 
feit  girls.  I  can  tell  counterfeit  people  everywhere." 
At  this  he  looked  steadily  at  Nicholas,  in  apparent  for- 
getfulness  of  the  coming  nabob,  and  so  hard  did  he 
look  that  Nicholas  Judge  began  in  his  country  sim 
plicity  to  blush,  and  to  have  an  uneasy  feeling  that 
this  far-sighted  Manlius  was  detecting  the  alloy  in  his 
material.  But  now  voices  were  heard  in  the  passage, 
and  Mrs.  Starkey  appeared,  with  Mr.  Manlius's  two 
children,  as  if  impersonating  virtue  and  her  rewards. 
Nicholas  had  seen  Mrs.  Starkey  more  than  once  since 
the  evening  when  he  had  so  suddenly  claimed  and  as 
suddenly  relinquished  the  place  of  nephew  to  her,  and 
was  familiar  with  the  ordinary  mood  of  her  nature, 
which  was  by  no  means  an  excitable  or  voluble  one. 
One  seeing  her  now  would  observe  a  mild,  shall  we  say 
forlorn  looking  woman,  clad  in  a  rusty  black  gown  and 
bearing  in  her  manner  the  consciousness  of  being  weak 
and  insignificant,  without  the  possibility  of  being  re 
stored  to  anything  like  brightness  of  life  ;  no  warm 
coals  within  her  to  be  fanned  and  fed  into  a  new  flame, 
and  so  thin  and  meagre,  so  attenuated  by  some  miser 
able  experience  that  it  would  seem  as  if  no  sunshine 
from  without,  though  enveloping  her  in  its  glad  robes, 
could  ever  awaken  a  sympathetic  smile.  If  this  were 
virtue,  Mr.  Manlius  was  likely  to  prefer  the  rewards, 
who  occupied  stations  on  each  side  of  virtue  like  bul 
warks  bracing  her  weak  structure.  These  maidens 
were  Elizabeth  and  Desire  Manlius,  of  equal  stature, 
but  unequal  in  endowments.  Elizabeth,  as  Mr.  Man 
lius  was  fond  of  saying  in  his  occasional  inventory  of 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  49 

his  daughter's  excellences,  was  intellectual  and  highly 
organized,  while  Desire,  whose  name  the  mother  insisted 
had  been  given  by  her  husband  in  a  moment  of  proph 
etic  inspiration,  was  of  mercurial  temperament,  "  ever 
reaching  "  in  her  father's  words  "  after  something  be 
yond  her,"  —  and  generally  breaking  it,  he  might  have 
added,  if  it  was  at  all  fragile.  Desire,  in  spite  of  her 
grasping  weakness,  was  the  mother's  favorite,  while 
Elizabeth,  by  her  promise  of  great  powers  of  mind  par 
tially  fulfilled  now  in  her  thirteenth  year,  was  the  pride 
of  her  father,  who  recognized  in  her  a  repetition  of  hi& 
own  intellectual  grandeur.  Desire,  except  in  the  alter 
nate  hours  of  reproof  and  punishment,  was  called 
Dizzy,  with  some  reference  doubtless  to  a  rotary  motion 
to  which  she  had  been  addicted  from  early  childhood 
and  which,  carried  on  under  adverse  circumstances  and 
too  long  persisted  in,  was  apt  to  end  in  a  tottering  faint- 
ness,  as  agreeable  from  some  cause  to  herself  as  it  was 
alarming  to  by-standers.  But  Elizabeth  had  passed 
the  years  of  childish  nomenclature.  In  infancy,  and 
while  still  on  words  of  one  syllable,  before  the  germ 
of  her  intellect  was  discernible  by  any  but  the  far- 
sighted  father,  she  was  called  Liz.  Passing  into  words 
of  two  syllables  and  now  exciting  fond  expectations, 
she  became  Lizzy.  When  she  entered  upon  the  long 
list  of  trisyllabic  words,  her  proud  father  spoke  of  her 
as  his  Eliza,  but  when,  Bearing  the  end  of  her  spelling 
course  she  managed  with  ease  words  of  four  syllables 
and  garnished  her  conversation  with  them,  she  became 
once  and  forever  Elizabeth,  coming,  so  to  speak,  into 
entire  possession  of  the  property,  which  had  been  held 
thus  far  in  trust  by  others. 

"  The  Doctor  sent  this  afternoon,  and  Caroline  went 
at  four  o'clock  and  desired  me  to  bring  you  the  chil 
dren  at  six,  and  to  say  that  if  you  needed  to  go  home, 
4 


50  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

I  could  go  with  the  children,  and  the  key  of  the  bureau 
is  in  the  right  hand  upper  little  drawer  in  a  button-box," 
said  Mrs.  Starkey,  as  if  repeating  a  lesson  learnt  with 
some  difficulty. 

"  And  I  am  going  to  ask  Uncle  Doctor  to  show  us 
his  skull,"  added  Elizabeth,  while  Dizzy  expressed  her 
general  satisfaction  by  spinning  like  a  teetotum  till  she 
fell  at  Nicholas's  feet  as  if  the  world  were  all  the  game 
of  the  Mansion  of  Happiness,  and  she  had  dropped 
upon  a  high  number.  Nicholas  caught  her  up,  and  held 
her  drooping  in  front  of  him  until  she  could  recover 
sher  footing. 

"  Desire,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  severely,  "  I  can  have 
no  reeling  here  in  the  Temple,  no,  nor  at  your  uncle's. 
What  would  the  Doctor  think  of  you  !  Mr.  Judge,  I 
hope  you  will  make  allowances  for  Dizzy's  behavior. 
Her  character  is  not  what  I  could  wish  it  to  be,  but 
she  has  her  sister  before  her ;  there  is  hope.  As  Mrs. 
Starkey  has  said,  we  are  going  out  for  a  social  evening 
at  Mrs.  Manlius's  brother's,  the  Doctor.  It  is  one  of  the 
necessary  evils  attendant  upon  the  life  of  a  physician 
in  large  practice,  that  he  cannot  always  command  his 
hours  of  relaxation.  To-day  the  Doctor  sends  word 
that  he  will  be  able  to  be  at  the  social  board,  and  we 
take  the  opportunity  which  is  offered  to  mingle  in  his 
society  ;  but  he  is  liable  to  be  called  away  at  any  mo 
ment,  Mr.  Judge.  The  mayor  may  die  while  we  are 
at  the  tea-table  and  the  Doctor  will  have  to  go ;  a  phy 
sician's  time  is  not  his  own." 

"  And  he  has  a  real  skull,"  said  Elizabeth,  "  and  I 
am  going  to  find  the  sutures." 

"  She  will  find  them,  Mr.  Judge,  depend  upon  it," 
said  the  proud  father,  "  they  won't  escape  her.  But  we 
must  go.  I  shan't  go  home,  Eunice.  This  is  an  in 
formal  gathering  and  we  stand  on  no  ceremony  at  the 
Doctor's." 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  51 

"  Let  me  walk  with  you,"  said  Nicholas  to  Mrs. 
Starkey,  "  I  am  on  my  way  to  the  Court ;  "  and  leaving 
Mr.  Manlius  and  his  daughters,  he  walked  with  Mrs. 
Starkey,  who  neither  accepted  nor  rejected  his  offer, 
out  of  the  Temple  and  so  through  the  streets  that  led 
to  Five-Sisters  Court.  The  walk  was  a  slippery  one, 
and  Nicholas  Judge,  giving  his  arm  to  the  poor,  thin 
body  who  slid  beside  him,  tried  to  cheer  her  up  and 
break  the  dull  monotony  of  her  manner.  She  answered 
his  questions  in  a  slow  and  dilatory  fashion,  as  if  the 
thought  had  to  be  sent  for  a  great  distance  and  was 
not  always  ready  at  the  summons.  He  essayed  jest 
ing,  but  so  bewildered  her  that  he  forbore,  and  yet  be 
sides  the  pity  for  such  a  lonely  body,  he  felt  he  knew 
not  why,  a  certain  respect  for  her,  as  if  some  power 
might  suddenly  reveal  in  her  face  and  form,  now 
scrawled  with  the  lines  of  hard  circumstance,  a  beauty 
indelible  in  its  vital  lines. 

Thus  at  least  did  he  build  in  his  own  mind,  though 
he  found  it  hard  afterward  to  give  any  reason  for  his 
feeling,  when,  having  seen  Mrs.  Starkey  safely  home, 
he  entered  the  next  house  and  sat  at  tea  in  his  aunt's 
chamber,  where  Miss  Betsey  Fix  also  was  found. 

"  Why  is  it,  aunt,"  said  he,  "  that  I  should  feel  so 
strangely  about  Mrs.  Starkey  ?  I  see  that  she  is  for 
lorn  and  living  a  hopeless  sort  of  life,  and  yet  I  do  not 
merely  pity  her.  I  feel  as  if  she  could  make  me  sud 
denly  see  that  she  was  far  above  me  in  real  nobleness 
of  character." 

"Ah,  Mr.  Nicholas,"  said  Miss  Fix,  with  a  twinkle 
in  her  little  eye.  "  It  is  because  there  is  character  in 
Mrs.  Starkey.  She  is  a  woman  of  character,  sir,  and 
I  sometimes  say  to  Mrs.  Manlius,  '  Caroline,  if  the 
world  knew  Eunice  Starkey,  they  would  be  amazed,'  " 
and  here  Miss  Fix  threw  herself  back  after  Mr.  Man- 


02  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

lius's  fashion  and  looked  into  the  distance,  as  if  she 
saw  the  world  coming  from  afar  to  get  a  view  of  Mrs. 
Stark ey.  Nicholas  laughed  and  said,  — 

"  Well,  there  is  Mr.  Manlius.  If  he  and  his  wife 
have  done  so  much  for  Mrs.  Starkey,  why  does  n't  she 
seem  to  show  some  gratitude?  But  she  is  as  indifferent, 
I  should  think,  to  everything,  as  if  she  were  their  serv 
ant." 

"  Dear  me ! "  said  Miss  Pix,  getting  a  little  excited, 
"  I  can  tell  you,  you  are  not  far  wrong,  Master  Nich 
olas.  I  do  believe  she  is  their  servant.  Think  of  her, 
poor  thing,  sitting  there  all  alone  this  cold  night,  and 
the  family  all  out  having  a  good  time.  I  declare,  I  do 
find  it  real  hard  to  love  Mr.  Manlius,  if  he  is  my  neigh 
bor,"  and  little  Miss  Pix  looked  ruefully  at  the  fire 
and  shook  her  head  over  her  hard-heartedness.  She 
brightened  up  suddenly  with  a  happy  thought. 

"  Why  not,  dear  Mrs.  Blake,  ask  Mrs.  Starkey  to 
come  in  here  this  evening  ?  " 

"  Well  thought,"  said  Mrs.  Blake.  "  Run,  Nicholas, 
and  ask  her  to  bring  her  work  in  here,  and  sit  with 
us." 

"  Her  work,  indeed  !  "  said  Miss  Pix,  with  bubbling 
indignation.  "  I  'm  thinking  Nicholas  will  have  to 
carry  the  ironing-board  for  her,  or  the  big  pots  that  are 
to  be  scoured."  But  Nicholas  was  off,  and  after  a 
long  time  returned  with  an  air  of  anxious  triumph,  as 
if  fearful  that  Mrs.  Starkey,  whom  he  had  enticed  with 
many  entreaties  thus  far,  might  slip  off  at  the  last  mo 
ment.  The  two  women  gave  her  a  kind  greeting,  Miss 
Pix  seizing  her  hand  and  shaking  it  till  it  brought  a 
glow  into  their  faces,  and  Mrs.  Blake  from  the  quiet 
arm-chair  to  which  fortune  had  bound  her,  receiving  the 
weary-looking  woman  with  a  benediction  of  peace  in 
her  countenance. 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  53 

"  What  a  singular  thing  it  is,"  said  Nicholas,  eager 
to  start  some  lively  conversation,  "  that  your  maiden 
name,  aunt,  and  Mrs.  Starkey's  should  have  been  the 
same,  and  more  singular  that  two  Eunice  Browns  should 
be  living  in  the  same  small  court." 

"I  am  Eunice  Starkey,"  said  their  visitor,  with  a 
troubled  expression. 

"  Yes,  and  aunt  is  Eunice  Blake,"  explained  Nich 
olas,  "  but  once  you  were  both  Eunice  Browns." 

"  Perhaps,"  said  Mrs.  Blake,  "  we  shall  prove  to  be 
near  relations,  though  there  are  a  good  many  Browns. 
Where  was  your  birth-place,  Mrs.  Starkey  ?  " 

"  Hark  !  did  n't  I  hear  them  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Starkey, 
jumping  up. 

"  No,  no,"  said  Nicholas.  "  It  is  not  near  time  for 
them  to  return.  We  are  to  have  a  pleasant  evening 
together,  unless,  you  know,  the  Mayor  should  die  ;  that 
might  break  up  the  Doctor's  party."  But  Mrs.  Starkey 
was  ill  at  ease,  and  stood  irresolute  ;  though  Miss  Pix 
was  profuse  in  her  assurances,  and  Nicholas  offered  to 
sit  at  the  front  window  and  keep  watch,  and  Mrs. 
Blake  used  her  gentlest  entreaties,  so  doubtful  and 
troubled  did  she  seem,  that,  out  of  very  kindness,  Nich 
olas  at  last  took  her  back  to  her  solitude. 

"  I  wish  I  could  understand  it,"  said  he,  coming 
back.  "  She  said  to  me  when  I  left  her,  '  You  're  a 
good  young  man,  Mr.  Judge.  You  're  a  good  young 
man.  I  had  n't  ought  to  have  gone  in.'  And  then 
she  drew  me  toward  her,  and  half  whispered,  '  You 
won't  say  anything  about  it,  will  ye  ? '  I  declare," 
added  Nicholas,  "  there  was  a  sadness  in  her  voice  that 
made  me,  —  made  me  feel,  I  don't  know  how." 

"  Take  care  !  "  laughed  Miss  Pix,  shaking  her  finger, 
"  I  am  afraid  you  will  have  trouble  in  the  world,  if  you 
let  yourself  be  affected  in  that  way  by  voices."  Then 


54  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

they  talked  of  other  matters,  and  at  last  Miss  Fix  re 
turned  to  her  home,  leaving  Nicholas  and  his  aunt 
alone.  They  sat  for  some  time  in  silence,  when  Nich 
olas  said  :  — 

"  I  cannot  get  my  mind  off  Mrs.  Starkey,  aunt ;  and 
the  more  I  think  of  it  the  more  I  mistrust  Mr.  Manlius. 
There  is  something  about  him  —  What  made  Mrs. 
Starkey  hope  I  would  n't  say  anything  about  it  ?  Was 
she  afraid  I  would  tell  him  ?  " 

"  So  I  should  think.  She  seems  to  be  in  some  terror 
of  him,  and  yet  when  she  was  here  Christinas  eve,  she 
seemed  to  be  on  familiar  terms  enough  with  him." 

"  That  was  different.  You  know  what  Mr.  Manlius 
says  about  her,  that  she  is  subject  to  occasional  fits  of 
volubility,  when  she  is  not  —  not  quite  responsible. 
And  he  kept  a  sharp  eye  on  her  all  the  evening.  He 
seems  to  be  covering  something  up,  when  he  stretches 
out  his  great  paws  over  her,  as  he  did  this  afternoon 
when  she  came  with  the  children." 

"  After  all,  this  may  be  nothing  more  than  his  foolish 
manner,  Nicholas.  Pray  do  not  let  us  begin  with  being 
suspicious  of  our  next  door  neighbors.  I  should  like, 
though,  to  give  a  little  comfort  to  Mrs.  Starkey,  with 
out  seeming  to  interfere  with  Mr.  Manlius's  family.  Ah, 
if  people  had  only  the  eyes  to  see  that  have  been  given 
to  me,  they  would  find  their  comfort  right  at  hand. 
How  beautiful  the  whole  world  must  be,  if  this  one 
little  chamber  where  I  have  lived  these  many  years,  is 
so  full  of  pleasant  things." 

Nicholas  looked  about  him  with  a  half-smile  and 
thought  that  the  pleasant  things,  had  mostly  been  sent 
forth  to  lodge  in  invisible  places  by  the  cunning  work 
manship  of  his  aunt's  peaceful  mind.  With  this  thought 
he  bade  Mrs.  Blake  good-night,  "  for  now,"  he  said,  "  I 
must  do  a  little  work." 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  55 

At  the  same  hour  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Manlius,  having  re 
turned  with  their  children  from  the  Doctor's,  were  alone 
in  their  room.  The  house  had  been  locked  up  ;  the  big 
Britannia  ice-pitcher  and  the  half-dozen  silver  spoons 
which  constituted  their  plate  had  been  brought  up 
stairs  by  their  own  hands  and  locked  up  in  a  trunk,  the 
key  of  which  Mrs.  Manlius  put  behind  the  looking- 
glass,  a  nightly  precaution  which  seemed  to  enhance  the 
value  of  the  articles,  and  Elizabeth  and  Dizzy  had  been 
sent  to  bed,  the  one  to  dream  of  a  great  skull  along 
whose  sutures  she  was  led  up  to  the  very  gates  of  the 
Temple  of  knowledge,  and  the  other  even  in  her  sleep 
sensible  of  a  most  delightful  whirling  motion  in  which 
she  was  always  on  the  verge  of  prostration. 

"  Hark !  "  said  Mr.  Manlius  to  his  wife.  She  listened, 
expecting  robbers. 

"  Where  is  it  ?  "  said  she,  in  a  frightened  whisper. 

"  Caroline,"  said  he,  in  an  awful  undertone,  "  It  is 
in  the  next  house.  Listen  !  It 's  Judge."  There  was 
a  confused  sound  in  the  room  of  Mrs.  Blake's  house 
adjoining  theirs,  which  seemed  to  proceed  from  some 
thing  betwixt  a  pounding  and  a  rolling. 

"  Caroline,"  said  Mr.  Manlius  again,  "  I  must  pene 
trate  this  mystery.  This  is  not  the  first  night  that  I 
have  heard  that  sound.  I  have  my  suspicions,  and  I 
owe  my  duty  to  my  neighbors.  I  cannot  tell  you 
more  now,  but  if  your  husband  falls,  you  may  know 
that  it  is  in  the  cause  of  virtue." 

This  was  the  only  consolation  that  Mrs.  Manlius  was 
allowed  to  enjoy,  for  her  husband,  big  with  some  solemn 
duty  to  be  discharged,  preserved  significant  silence, 
out  of  which  she  constructed  various  possibilities ;  as 
that  thieves  were  nightly  at  work  next  door  and  would 
burrow  through  into  their  own  house  some  day,  or  that 
there  was  some  gunpowder  plot  by  which  the  court  was 


56  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

to  be  blown  up,  and  that  Mr.  Manlius,  setting  a  watch, 
was  to  appear  at  the  last  moment,  arrest  the  plotters, 
and  extinguish  the  slow  match.  Haunted  by  these  and 
more  direful  creations  of  her  imagination,  she  dropped 
asleep,  but  it  was  long  before  sleep  visited  her  husband's 
eyelids.  Mr.  Manlius  was  thinking. 

The  next  morning  Mr.  Manlius  might  have  been 
seen,  cane  in  hand,  coming  out  of  his  house  and  step 
ping  along  the  court  with  an  abstracted  air,  as  if  he 
were  only  just  aware  of  houses  and  solid  earth.  He 
stopped,  turned  about,  and  made  as  if  he  would'go  back 
for  something  which  he  had  left  in  the  top  story  of  his 
house,  for  he  cast  his  eyes  thither  in  a  reflective  way, 
humming  a  tune  to  himself,  and  allowing  his  outward 
eye  to  search  the  roofs  of  the  houses,  while  his  inner 
eye  seemed  rolling  about  his  own  orderly  interior  in 
search  of  some  forgotten  purpose.  As  has  been  said, 
the  house  adjoining  his  own,  occupied  by  the  widow 
Blake  and  her  new-found  nephew,  was  set  back  from 
the  others  in  a  jog  of  the  court,  so  that  its  front  was 
not  on  a  line  with  its  neighbor,  but  its  face  was  the 
same  and  the  arrangement  of  rooms  seemed  to  corre 
spond.  It  was  toward  its  upper  windows  that  Mr.  Man- 
lius's  eye  was  mechanically  set,  and  the  windows  looked 
back  quite  as  blankly,  having  an  unmoving  lid  of  white 
curtain.  His  eye  dropped  upon  the  ground,  he  traced 
a  pattern  on  the  pavement  with  his  cane  and  then  re 
sumed  his  walk  slowly  up  the  court,  his  hands  behind 
him  after  the  manner  of  most  pictured  philosophers. 

But  once  out  of  the  court,  Mr.  Manlius  recovered  his 
promptness,  and  turning  a  corner  went  quickly  up 
Amory  Street,  and  going  into  Trowel  Street  made  an 
other  bend,  by  which,  passing  down  an  alley,  he  was 
brought  to  the  rear  of  the  houses  in  Five  Sisters  Court. 
From  this  point  he  could  study  the  houses  without  dan- 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  57 

ger  of  being  misunderstood,  and  accordingly  he  did  his 
work  in  a  business-like  way,  taking  a  survey  of  the 
windows  as  before,  and  establishing  the  general  corre 
spondence  which  existed  in  front.  Moreover,  he  took 
from  his  pocket  a  memorandum  book  and  made  a  dia 
gram  of  the  rear  elevation,  putting  in  the  windows,  and 
carefully  noting  the  number  of  panes  in  each,  "  for,"  as 
he  remarked  to  himself,  "  one  never  knows  to  a  cer 
tainty  how  much  he  may  have  to  depend  upon  appar 
ently  unimportant  particulars  in  these  things." 

What  were  these  things  ?  Mr.  Manlius  for  one 
would  not  have  answered,  even  to  a  question  from  his 
anxious  wife.  Enough  to  say  that  Mr.  Manlius  was 
thinking,  that  he  was  laying  deep  plans,  and  that  time 
would  show  whether  his  far  seeing  eye  had  not  pene 
trated  the  veil  of  apparent  innocence  and  exposed  to 
public  view  an  Infamous  Destroyer  of  Peace.  Like  a 
wise  general,  having  an  arduous  campaign  before  him, 
he  had  made  a  careful  reconnoisance  of  the  ground  upon 
which  his  operations  were  to  be  carried  on,  and  with 
the  result,  so  far  as  it  could  be  committed  to  paper,  care 
fully  buttoned  in  his  inner  pocket,  but  the  more  im 
portant  train  of  thought  deposited  in  the  burglar  proof 
safe  of  his  own  head,  he  went  about  his  daily  business. 

But  an  ordinary  observer  could  scarcely  fail  to  see 
that,  although  Mr.  Manlius  gave  his  attention  to  such 
petty  details  as  furnishing  chambermaids  at  ten  and  six 
to  housekeepers  who  used  only  that  old  style  of  calcula 
tion,  his  mind  was  absent  on  more  weighty  matters. 
He  remained  at  his  post,  however,  till  evening,  when  he 
moved  slowly  homeward  and  entered  his  house.  Mrs. 
Manlius  followed  him  with  her  eye,  as  he  passed  in  and 
out  or  sat  meditatively ;  she  did  not  dare  to  plumb  his 
thoughts,  but  gave  the  more  rein  to  her  own  imagina 
tion,  and  was  now  quite  prepared  to  believe  that  Nich- 


58  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

olas  Judge,  the  arch  enemy  as  she  felt,  was  at  that  mo 
ment  laying  a  train  of  gunpowder  under  the  house,  and 
would  presently  be  found,  like  a  modern  Guy  Faux, 
lighting  the  gas  preliminary  to  his  dire  deed.  The  chil 
dren,  too,  were  rather  awed  by  their  father's  solemn 
countenance,  and  Dizzy  for  once  refrained  from  her 
customary  prancing  in  the  rocking-chair  before  going 
to  bed. 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  59 


CHAPTER    IV. 

AND  now,  when  the  children  had  been  sent  to  bed, 
Mr.  Manlius  went  to  his  room  and  after  a  while  de 
scended,  dressed  in  the  most  careful  manner. 

"  Wife,"  said  he,  drawing  on  a  woolen  glove,  "  I  am 
going  to  make  a  friendly  call  upon  our  neighbor,  Mrs. 
Blake  ;  "  but  though  these  were  simple  words,  there  was 
something  in  his  manner  ominous  of  a  deeper  intention, 
which  made  his  wife,  sensitive  to  all  the  finer  move 
ments  of  his  nature,  say  in  alarm,  — 

"  Oh,  Soprian  !  if  anything  should  happen  !  " 

"  It  is  proper,  Caroline,  that  I  should  call  upon  my 
next  neighbor.  I  know  what  society  requires  of  me  ; " 
and  one  would  have  thought  from  his  lofty  tone  that 
society  required  him,  at  whatever  sacrifice  of  personal 
comfort,  to  assume  the  highest  dignity.  So  he  stepped 
out  gravely,  as  well  bundled  up  as  if  he  were  going  to 
the  North  Pole  instead  of  to  the  next  house.  He 
stopped,  however,  on  the  doorstep  of  Mrs.  Blake's 
house,  in  order  to  get  out  the  visiting  card  with  which 
he  had  forearmed  himself.  The  card  bore  his  name 
and  title,  Soprian  Manlius,  Esq.,  written  with  great 
energy  and  efflorescence  by  a  young  man  who  sat  in  the 
hall  of  one  of  the  hotels,  before  a  little  table  with  an 
exceedingly  fine-nibbed  pen,  and  kept  specimens  of  his 
work  about  him,  visiting  cards  written  for  such  long 
drawn  and  liquid  names  as  Montgomery,  Cholmondely, 
and  the  like.  He  had  allowed  his  pen  to  hover  in  the 


60  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

air  a  moment,  then  descend  in  swallow-like  dips  to  the 
card,  while  Mr.  Manlius  spelled  his  name  for  him. 
"  Esq.,"  added  Mr.  Manlius.  "  But  we  never  add  that," 
said  the  unfortunate  young  man,  who  had  prided  him 
self  on  centring  the  name  in  the  card.  "  I  am  a  jus 
tice  of  the  peace,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  with  dignity. 
"  Put  Esq.  at  the  end ; "  and  so  the  young  man  destroyed 
the  symmetry.  "  Now  put  my  residence  on,  3  Amory 
Court.  Put  it  in  the  right  hand  corner,  sir.  I  want 
room  for  my  business  quarters."  The  young  man 
obeyed.  "  Now,  office,  Room  No.  9,  Temple.  Put 
that  in  the  left  hand  corner.  Is  there  room  for  office 
hours  ? "  he  added,  doubtfully,  turning  his  head  and 
getting  a  side  view  of  the  card,  which  had  been  so  en-, 
twined  with  the  tendrils  of  the  several  capital  letters  as 
to  be  somewhat  overrun.  "  I  hardly  think  so,"  said 
the  young  man,  faintly  protesting  thus  against  further 
degradation  of  his  art,  and  Mr.  Manlius,  tolerably  con 
tent  with  the  general  effect,  decided  to  leave  the  card  as 
it  now  stood. 

It  was  this  card  which  he  now  handed  to  Mrs.  Blake's 
maid  when  she  opened  the  door,  and  let  him  into  the 
house. 

"  Take  that  to  your  mistress,"  said  he,  "  and  tell  her 
that  Mr.  Manlius  has  called."  Neither  the  maid  nor 
Mrs.  Blake,  however,  seemed  so  much  impressed  with 
the  fact  of  the  call  as  Mr.  Manlius  himself.  Mrs. 
Blake  saw  him,  as  she  must  needs  see  every  one  who 
came,  in  her  chamber,  where  she  was  imprisoned. 

"  You  will  excuse  me  from  rising,"  she  said,  pleas 
antly,  reaching  out  her  hand.  "  I  have  to  play  the 
part  of  a  very  fine  lady  to  conceal  the  fact  that  I  am  a 
prisoner.  I  am  sorry  my  nephew  is  not  at  home  this 
evening  to  see  you.  He  rarely  goes  out." 

u  I  see  him  from  time  to  time,"  said  Mr.  Manlius, 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  61 

who  felt  less  at  his  ease  in  this  white  room  with  this 
gentle,  fair  lady  before  him.  u  I  trust  he  is  well." 

"  Quite  well." 

"  I  trust  you  are  well,  madam  ?  " 

"  Thank  you,  I  am  never  otherwise  than  as  you  see 
me.  I  hope  Mrs.  Manlius  may  be  able  to  come  to  see 
me.  You  know  I  can  hardly  return  calls.  Mrs. 
Starkey,  also,  I  should  be  very  glad  to  see.  We  owe  a 
good  deal  to  Miss  Pix  for  shaking  us  all  together,  as 
she  did  Christmas  eve." 

"  A  lively  woman,  a  lively  woman,"  said  Mr.  Man 
lius,  shaking  his  head  a  little  dubiously,  for  a  counter 
poise  of  seriousness.  "  Such  characters  are  a  little  —  a 
little  hasty.  But  she  means  well,"  he  added,  not  wish 
ing  wholly  to  abandon  Miss  Pix  to  her  own  hastiness. 
"  I  hope  you  find  your  nephew's  character  well  bal 
anced,  Mrs.  Blake  ?  a  person  you  can  put  your  finger 
on  and  know  you  have  him.  I  say  to  girls  sometimes, 
when  they  come  to  me  for  employment,  '  Have  you  a 
good  character  ? '  If  you  have,  I  can  find  a  place  for 
you ;  otherwise,  no.  You  may  get  wages,  but  you 
won't  get  a  permanent  place.  It 's  everything,  Mrs. 
Blake.  A  well-balanced  character  is  everything ; " 
and  Mr.  Manlius,  leaning  back  in  his  chair,  seemed  to 
survey  Mrs.  Blake  with  artistic  criticism.  "  Your 
nephew,  now,  how  do  you  find  his  character,  on  the 
whole  ?  " 

"  I  have  every  reason  to  trust  him,"  she  said,  quietly. 
"  It  is  a  pleasure  to  me  to  have  one  about  me  who  is  so 
simple  and  unaffected.  I  see  so  few  people  that  his 
freshness  is  peculiarly  attractive  to  me." 

"  Simple,  ma'am  ?  Well,"  and  he  half  closed  his 
eyes,  "  I  have  had  to  study  character  a  good  deal,  it 's 
my  profession,  so  to  speak,  and  I  've  noticed  that  your 
simple  people  are  sometimes  very  deep.  Now  you 


62  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

would  n't  think  it  perhaps,  ma'am,  but  I  've  had  girls 
come  to  me  just  fresh  from  the  country,  looking  like 
milkmaids,  and  I  've  had  to  say,  '  No,  you  must  n't  come 
here.  'T  a'n't  no  use.  You  may  go  to  the  Bureau,  but 
you  must  n't  come  to  the  Temple.'  And  they  go, 
ma'am  ;  dozens  of  'em.  But  my  paid  agent,  Mr.  Sope, 
down  in  Nova  Scotia,  he  looks  out  to  get  only  A  Num 
ber  One  girls.  He  don't  ship  them  otherwise.  Your 
nephew  now,  ma'am,  has  he  tried  to  get  any  employ 
ment?  But  perhaps  he  don't  mean  to  settle  down  to 
any  regular  trade  ?  " 

"  He  has  studied  medicine  with  his  father  in  the 
country,"  said  Mrs.  Blake.  "  I  think  he  has  had  un 
usual  opportunities  in  that  direction."  A  gleam  of  in 
telligence  darted  across  Mr.  Maulius's  face.  He  drew 
a  little  memorandum  book  from  his  pocket. 

"  Excuse  me,  madam,"  said  he,  "  I  have  thought  of 
something  which  I  should  be  sorry  to  have  escape  me, 
and  with  your  permission  I  will  make  a  note  of  it." 
And  so  saying,  he  wet  the  end  of  a  black  lead  pencil 
and  jotted  something  down  in  his  memorandum  book. 
He  continued  to  hold  the  latter  somewhat  magisterially 
in  his  hand,  as  he  proceeded  with  his  inquiries. 

"  Medicine,  I  think  you  said,  madam.  I  had  thoughts 
of  studying  medicine  once  myself.  It  is  a  noble  occu 
pation.  Mrs".  Manlius's  brother  is  a  doctor  —  Doctor 
Simmons ;  you  have  heard  of  him,  I  presume  ;  a  man 
very  eminent  in  his  profession.  So  your  nephew  is  a 
doctor  !  learned,  I  suppose,  in  drugs,  in  simples,  and 
compounds  ?  " 

"  He  can  hardly  be  called  learned  yet,  nor  is  he  en 
titled  to  the  name  of  doctor.  He  never  has  taken  a 
degree,  nor  am  I  sure  .that  he  intends  to  practice 
medicine." 

"  Ah !  does  not  intend  to  practice  medicine.    Excuse 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  63 

me,  I  just  thought  of  something,"  and  again  he  had 
recourse  to  his  note-book. 

"  What,  then,  will  his  study  lead  him  to,  Mrs.  Blake  ? 
I  have  taken  a  great  —  yes,  I  may  say  a  great  in 
terest  in  your  uephew,  and  I  do  not  ask  these  questions 
out  of  idle  curiosity." 

"  I  think  he  is  too  modest  to  say  definitely  what  he 
expects  to  accomplish,"  said  she.  Mr.  Manlius  wrote 
with  an  abstracted  air  in  his  book,  saying  in  a  reflective 
way,— 

"  Yes,  as  you  say,  he  does  not  say  definitely  what 
he  is  about.  Now,  would  he  like  to  have  an  office  in 
the  Temple,  do  you  think,  Mrs.  Blake?"  and  he  looked 
at  her  with  an  air  of  exceeding  interest  in  her  nephew- 
"  I  have  influence  there,  and  could  perhaps  secure  an 
eligible  apartment  for  him." 

"  We  are  much  obliged  to  you,  Mr.  Manlius,  but  it 
is  hardly  necessary  until  Nicholas  is  ready  to  engage 
regularly  in  some  occupation  requiring  an  office.  He 
finds  his  room  here  all  that  he  needs." 

"  Yes,  he  can  work  more  privately  here,  I  suppose. 
By  the  way,  your  house,  I  take  it,  is  arranged  very 
much  like  mine.  Down-stairs,  a  parlor,  dining-room, 
and  kitchen ;  on  this  story,  this  room  and  the  one  back, 
and  the  hall  bed-room,  and  up-stairs,  under  the  roof, 
two  attic  rooms.  You  have  more  room  than  we  have, 
Mrs.  Blake.  Our  family  is  larger.  The  girls  are 
growing.  Mrs.  Starkey  must  have  her  room.  Now 
1  suppose  you  have  some  empty  rooms,  have  n't  you  ?  " 

"  Not  many,"  she  answered,  smiling.  "  My  house  is 
arranged  like  yours,  but  since  my  nephew  came,  it 
seems  quite  full.  He  has  taken  the  attic  for  his  bed 
room  and  workshop,  as  he  calls  it,  so  as  not  to  disturb 
me." 

"  Ah,  then  he  sleeps  up-stairs,  does  he,  and  works 
up  there  ?  " 


64  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

'•  Yes." 

"  That 's  a  very  good  arrangement,"  said  Mr.  Man- 
lius,  slowly  revolving  his  head.  "  Then  he  is  quite  by 
himself,  except  he  lets  your  girl,  I  suppose,  take  care 
of  his  rooms." 

"  No,  Hannah  has  a  wholesome  dread  of  his  work 
shop,  and  Nicholas,  being  a  handy  young  man,  is  quite 
willing  to  take  care  of  his  own  quarters." 

"  I  see,  I  see."  The  note-book  came  into  play  again 
in  an  absent  sort  of  way.  "  He  has  frightened  this 
girl  by  his,  —  his  workshop,  so  that  she  keeps  away. 
It 's  a  pity,  ma'am,  you  can't  go  up-stairs.  It  must  be 
a  gratification  to  your  nephew  to  have  one  of  your  in 
telligence  and  general  education  to  aid  him  by  advice 
in  his  work." 

"  I  am  quite  content  that  he  shall  work  by  himself. 
Indeed,"  she  added,  with  a  twinkle,  "  I  don't  know  that 
he  would  let  me  come  if  I  could,  for  he  likes  his  little 
secrets,  and  you  know  if  you  give  a  secret  to  a  friend 
to  keep,  you  never  can  get  it  back  again  :  though  I  am 
afraid  no  one  would  be  the  wiser  for  any  secret  Nich 
olas  might  intrust  to  me."  Mr.  Manlius's  note-book 
seemed  to  be  receiving  new  deposits.  He  closed  it 
now  and  placed  it  in  his  pocket. 

"  I  am  so  constantly  in  the  habit  of  using  my  mem 
orandum  book  in  my  business,  Mrs.  Blake,  that  I  have 
formed  the  habit,  almost  unconsciously  to  myself,  I  may 
say,  of  referring  to  it  in  society.  Mrs.  Manlius  some 
times  says  that  she  is  afraid  of  my  book,  because  she 
thinks  I  put  down  in  it  various  things  that  she  says, 
but  the  fact  is,  my  business  runs  in  my  head  so  that 
I  do  not  like  to  trust  my  memory  too  far,  though 
it  is  a  good  memory,  a  very  retentive  memory,  Mrs. 
Blake,  and  so  I  am  obliged  to  jot  down  important 
things  that  I  think  of,  wherever  I  may  happen  to  be. 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  65 

I  beg  you  will  excuse  my  apparent  want  of  attention, 
ma'am,"  and  be  bowed  seriously,  "  but  I  heard  every 
word,  ma'am,  every  word.  I  hope  I  have  n't  fatigued 
you  ?  " 

«  Not  at  all,  Mr.  Manlius." 

"  You  have  a  pretty  strong  constitution,  then  ?  " 

"  Don't  you  think  it  ought  to  be,  to  stand  the  wear 
and  tear  of  an  anchorage  in  this  room,  fifteen  years  ? 
Pray  tell  me  about  your  children,  Mr.  Manlius.  I 
have  sometimes  seen  them  from  my  window,  as  they 
played  in  the  court.  Are  they  alike  in  disposi 
tion  ?  " 

"  They  are  unequally  gifted,  I  may  say,  ma'am, 
without  prejudice.  My  oldest  daughter,  Elizabeth,  is 
the  more  intellectual,  her  sister,  Desire,  the  more  phys 
ical,  if  I  may  so  say." 

"  Is  she  stouter  ?  " 

"  She  has  more  bodily  agility,  she  is  less  highly  de 
veloped  in  her  mental  organization.  I  have  given  my 
own  personal  attention  to  Elizabeth,  while  Desire  is 
more  childish  and  has  been  more  under  the  supervision 
of  her  mother  and  Mrs.  Starkey." 

"  Ah,  the  children  must  give  a  deal  of  pleasure  to 
Mrs.  Starkey.  It  is  such  a  happiness  when  one  is 
growing  old  to  have  the  young  about  one." 

"  Mrs.  Starkey  shares  all  our  joys  and  sorrows  with 
us,"  said  Mr.  Manlius  somewhat  more  loftily  than  the 
occasion  seemed  to  require.  "  Our  home  is  one  ;  she 
goes  in  and  out  as  one  of  the  family.  As  I  told  your 
nephew  when  he  came  first  to  see  her,  under  pretense 
of  being  her  nephew  "  — 

"  I  think  you  forget,  Mr.  Manlius." 

"  Pardon  me,  madam.  I  received  him,  Mrs.  Starkey 
received  him,  as  her  nephew.  But  let  that  pass,  —  I 
told  him  then  and  there  that  we  had  sheltered  Mrs. 
5 


66  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

Starkey  for  many  years.  I  am  not  one  to  disown  a 
friend  or  a  relation  either  in  the  day  of  her  calamity. 
But  I  will  bid  you  good  evening,  madam." 

"  I  hear  my  nephew's  steps  in  the  passage,  Mr.  Man- 
lius.  Won't  you  wait  to  see  him  ?  "  At  that  moment 
Nicholas  himself  entered,  his  face  ruddy  with  the  glow 
of  walking  in  the  wind,  and  after  greeting  his  aunt 
affectionately,  welcomed  Mr.  Manlius. 

"  Really,  this  is  pleasant,"  said  he,  "  to  come  out  of 
the  cold  street  to  this  cheerful  fire,  and  find  a  neigh 
bor  cosily  seated  here.  How  are  Mrs.  Manlius,  and  the 
.children,  and  Mrs.  Starkey  ?  " 

•"  They  are  well,  quite  well,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  bow 
ing  stiffly.  "Mrs.  Manlius  rarely  gets  out,  and  my 
own  engrossing  business  does  not  allow  me  to  perform 
many  social  duties,  except  where  such  are  imperative," 
and  he  made  a  movement  as  if  to  take  out  his  note 
book.  "  It  has  given  me  great  pleasure  to  see  your 
aunt,  and  satisfaction,  Mr.  Judge.  It  would  give  me 
pleasure  if  I  might  see  you  at  my  office  some  day  soon ; 
there  are  some  little  matters  of  business  I  should  like 
to  talk  over  with  you.  I  was  intending  to  leave  this 
message  with  your  aunt.  Or  perhaps,  you  would  rather 
see  me  on  your  own  premises.  We  are  neighbors,  Mr. 
Judge.  Let  me  drop  in  on  you  in  a  friendly  way.  Your 
aunt  tells  me  you  have  your  own  apartments." 

Nicholas  glanced  at  his  aunt,  blushed  a  little,  and 
replied :  "  I  shall  be  happy  to  see  you  any  time,  Mr. 
Manlius,  either  here  or  at  your  office.  I  am  almost  al 
ways  at  home  in  the  evening,  or  I  could  call  on  you 
some  afternoon,  when  I  am  down  town,  as  I  am  every 
day." 

"  I  won't  trouble  you,  I  won't  trouble  you,  Mr.  Judge. 
I  will  call  upon  you  here  some  evening,"  and  so  saying, 
he  bowed  himself  out  of  the  room,  and  made  his  way 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  67 

back  to  his  house,  where  he  sat  for  some  time,  studying 
his  note-book,  and  occasionally  making  a  memorandum. 

"  What  can  that  man  want  of  me,  aunt  ? "  asked 
Nicholas,  when  he  had  gone.  "  I  'm  sure  we  don't  want 
any  of  his  girls,  not  even  Martha  Jewmer,  that  paragon 
of  servants.  Did  he  tell  you  what  he  wanted  of  me  ?  " 

"  No.  He  asked  a  good  many  questions  about  you. 
I  should  almost  say  he  was  an  amateur  census-taker."' 

"  Anyway,  I  don't  like  him,"  said  Nicholas,  energetic 
ally,  "  and  I  think  he  's  a  good  deal  of  a  humbug." 

"Tut,  tut,  Nicholas.  That's  too  easy  a  word  to 
apply.  I  can't  say  I  take  very  kindly  to  Mr.  Manlius 
myself,  but  insincerity  is  such  a  terrible  blot  that  I 
don't  like  to  find  it  too  readily  in  any  one.  Tell  me 
how  you  enjoyed  your  concert." 

"  Oh,  aunt,  it  was  wonderful.  You  know  I  never 
heard  much  music,  but  if  I  had  never  heard  a  sound  I 
think  I  should  have  caught  some  enthusiasm  from  Miss 
Fix,  who  fairly  quivered  with  excitement.  Little  Mr. 
Windgraff  came  down  between  the  parts,  and  Miss  Pix 
seized  his  hand  and  shook  it,  till  the  people  about  us 
stared  and  smiled.  But  Mr.  Windgraff  began  talking 
at  once.  '  Yes,  it  's  very  fine,'  said  he,  '  but  I  heard 
this  same  great  violinist  play  just  the  same  twenty 
years  ago.  He  has  not  grown  at  all,  Miss  Pix.'  Then 
Miss  Pix  retorted :  '  I  hope,  then,  he  '11  play  so  through 
all  eternity,  Mr.  Windgraff,'  and  they  both  laughed 
and  chatted,  and  talked  in  German,  and  I  felt  like  an 
ignoramus." 

"  You  ought  to,  in  music,  beside  Miss  Pix  and  Mr. 
Windgraff.  It  is  their  profession.  But  you  could  enjoy 
it." 

"  Enjoy  it !  I  must  have  acted  like  a  lunatic  when 
we  came  away,  for  Miss  Pix  even  became  alarmed 
finally,  and  said,  '  Take  care,  Nicholas.  Your  char- 


68  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

acter  is  not  well  balanced  ! '  Aunt,  if  I  had  much  to  do 
with  Mr.  Manlius,  I  know  I  should  knock  him  down 
finally." 

"To  prove  your  own  equipoise?  Never  mind  Mr. 
Manlius,  Nicholas.  He  can  go  his  own  way ;  he  will 
hardly  come  much  in  yours." 

But  Mr.  Manlius  had  no  intention  of  keeping  out  of 
the  way  of  Nicholas  Judge.  It  was  not  many  evenings 
after  this  that  he  again  called,  and  this  time,  without 
tiering  his  card,  asked  for  Mr.  Judge.  The  servant 
was  opening  the  door  of  the  parlor. 

"  No  need,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  with  suavity.  "  I  will 
go  right  up  to  Mr.  Judge's  room,"  and  began  ascend 
ing  the  stairs,  without  heeding  the  remonstrance  of 
Hannah,  who  had  been  instructed  never  to  show  any 
one  to  the  top  of  the  house. 

"  Indeed,  sir,"  she  persisted,  running  after  him  ;  "  if 
you  will  take  a  seat  in  the  parlor,  Mr.  Manlius,  I'll 
call  Mr.  Nicholas ;  but  he  never  sees  any  one  up 
stairs." 

"  Never  mind,  my  good  girl,"  said  he,  waving  her 
back  clumsily,  and  moving  on  without  turning.  "  We 
are  old  friends ;  he  'a  expecting  me."  But  Hannah's 
voice,  and  his  own,  had  made  such  a  commotion  by 
this  time,  that  Nicholas  himself  appeared  at  the  head 
of  the  stairs. 

" Oh,  it 's  you,  is  it,  Mr.  Manlius,"  said  he  ;  "I '11 
come  right  down." 

"  Oh,  no  matter,  I  '11  take  you  as  I  find  you,"  said 
that  gentleman,  laboring  on,  well  used  to  the  plan  of 
the  house,  which  corresponded  to  his  own.  Nicholas 
had,  however,  closed  the  door  behind  him,  and  was  on 
his  way  down-stairs. 

"  My  room  is  quite  in  disorder,"  said  he,  and  his 
own  face  was  somewhat  confused.  "  It 's  hardly  the 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  69 

place  in  which  to  see  people.  In  fact,"  he  added,  as 
he  chased  his  guest  in  a  dignified  way  down-stairs ;  "  I 
do  as  I  please  there,  and  even  Hannah  never  enters  it 
now.  I  think  she  has  a  fancy  that  I  keep  all  sorts  of 
dangerous  instruments  or  concoctions  in  it,  and  so  has 
a  wholesome  dread  of  going  there,  which  I  have  no 
reason  to  remove." 

"  Yet  a  wholly  unreasonable  dread,  I  suppose  now," 
said  Mr.  Manlius,  stroking  his  chin  and  looking  slylj 
at  him. 

"  Not  altogether,"  said  Nicholas.  "  Ignorant  people 
may  unintentionally  do  terrible  damage  with  very  sim 
ple  things." 

"  With  poisons  now,  for  example,"  said  Mr.  Man 
lius,  blandly.  At  the  mention  of  the  word,  Nicholas 
trembled  violently  and  turned  away  from  his  visitor. 
He  rose  and  crossed  the  room,  returning  to  find  Mr. 
Manlius  making  a  note  in  his  memorandum  book. 

"  It 's  a  habit  I  have,"  said  that  gentleman,  "  of  mak 
ing  notes  of  any  matter  of  business  that  may  be  occu 
pying  me-.  As  I  remarked,  Mr.  Judge,  I  had  a  little 
matter  that  I  desired  to  see  you  about.  You  are 
aware  that  my  profession  is  a  very  absorbing  one. 
There  is  immense  competition,  sir,  in  the  business  of 
providing  families  with  domestic  assistants.  I  have  a 
paid  agent,  Mr.  Sope,  in  the  Provinces.  He  scours 
the  country,  Mr.  Judge,  but  what  does  he  find  ?  girls 
are  bought  up,  Mr.  Judge,  yes,  sir,  bought  up  by  un 
principled  men  who  cater  for  the  New  York  market ; 
girls  of  tender  years  are  engaged  before  they  are  old 
enough  to  go  into  service,  and  are  bound  by  these  men 
in  advance,  so  that  it  has  become  necessary  for  him  to 
pay  large  sums  of  money  to  parents  to  induce  them  to 
use  their  parental  authority  to  nullify  these  unjust  con 
tracts.  And  why  are  these  girls  so  eagerly  sought, 


70  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

sir?  because  in  their  lowly  homes  they  are  brought  up 
with  character;  they  have  economy,  virtue,  industry, 
what  I  call  the  cardinal  points  of  character,  and  with 
these  they  can  make  their  way  anywhere,  anywhere," 
and  Mr.  Maulius  leaned  back  and  seemed  to  see  a  pro 
cession  of  these  girls  putting  out  to  sea  with  their 
characters  in  their  hands. 

"  Now  what  I  wished  to  say,"  he  resumed,  "  when 
we  got  on  that  unpleasant  subject  a  moment  ago,  and 
what  I  have  here  in  my  memorandum  book  as  a 
minute,  is  that  I  am  designing  a  coup  d'etat,  as  they 
say  in  France,  by  which  I  shall  strike  out  into  a  new 
enterprise  and  render  at  the  same  time  a  service  to  the 
public.  Mr.  Judge,  Nova  Scotia  is  not  the  only 
country  in  the  world,  is  it  ?" 

"  By  no  means,"  said  Nicholas,  without  hesitation. 

"  Well,  girls  are  found  elsewhere  ;  they  are  found  in 
our  own  native  country,  but  they  are  proud.  I  don't 
generally  do  much  with  American  girls.  They  are 
not,  as  I  may  say,  adapted  by  our  political  life  to  enter 
the  houses  of  the  wealthy  as  domestic  assistants.  But 
the  difficulty  is  not  insurmountable,  sir.  It  can  be 
overcome,  and  I  propose  to  overcome  it.  I  propose  to 
go  to  some  simple  country  place,  where  the  contamina 
tion  of  the  city  has  not  yet  poisoned  the  fountains  of 
nature,  and  there  lay  before  the  young  women  the 
superior  advantages  of  city  and  suburban  life,  and 
induce  them  to  come,  two  by  two,  engaging  to  secure 
for  them  comfortable  homes  and  all  the  social  ameni 
ties.  It  is  probably  not  unknown  to  you  that  such 
young  women  do  leave  their  paternal  homes  to  labor 
in  factories  and  other  like  institutions,  but  I  have  in 
this  little  book  tables  of  figures  by  which  I  can  demon 
strate  that  they  lay  up  more  of  this  world's  goods,  by 
engaging  in  domestic  occupations  such  as  befit  our 


STATE  NORMAL  SCHW 

Los  Angeles,  Cal. 
FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  71 

native  young  women,  than  by  adopting  the  uncertain 
avocations  to  which  I  have  alluded.  Now  I  have  pon 
dered  this  scheme  for  some  time,  and  I  propose  testing 
it  myself  by  personal  contact  with  these  young  women. 
I  shall  not  send  any  one  out  on  so  delicate  an  errand, 
Mr.  Judge,"  —  Nicholas  bowed  heartily,  having  had  a 
vague  apprehension  that  Mr.  Manlius  intended  solicit 
ing  or  perhaps  demanding  his  services  —  "  I  shall  go 
myself  into  the  rural  district.  You  are  from  the 
country,  I  believe,  Mr.  Judge  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  am  from  the  country." 

"  There  is  a  charm  in  the  open  air  of  nature,  sir  ; 
and  while  I  am  compelled  to  give  my  attention  exclus 
ively  to  my  engrossing  business,  I  shall  regard  it  as  a 
pleasing  part  of  my  enterprise  to  look  upon  nature 
also,"  and  Mr.  Manlius  leaned  back  and  took  a  con 
noisseur  view  of  nature  as  ideally  present.  "  What 
part  of  the  country,  pray,  was  that  in  which  you  were 
accustomed  to  reside  ?  I  think  I  never  had  the  pleas 
ure  of  hearing  you  name  it."  Nicholas  hesitated  and 
looked  confused.  "  I  am  from  Kennebunk  in  Maine," 
continued  Mr.  Manlius,  with  dignity.  "  I  am  proud 
to  give  my  nativity  at  any  time.  I  am  not  ashamed 
of  coming  from  down  East,  sir." 

"  I  have  nothing  to  be  ashamed  of  in  my  birthplace," 
said  Nicholas,  quietly,  "  but  for  certain  reasons,  which 
it  is  unnecessary  to  state,  I  am  not  in  the  habit  of  re 
ferring  to  my  former  home.  I  am  a  citizen  here  now," 
he  added,  smiling,  "  and  propose  to  exercise  all  my 
rights  of  citizenship,  one  of  which  I  believe  is  to  be  an 
undistinguished  atom  in  a  crowd  of  atoms." 

"  That  was  a  happy  phrase,"  said  Mr.  Manlius  ; 
"  allow  me  to  take  it  down  in  my  note-book,  where  I 
frequently  preserve  pregnant  truths,"  and  Mr.  Man- 
lius's  pencil  was  busy,  while  he  kept  on  talking :  "  Mr. 


72  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

Judge  declines  to  state  where  he  caine  from.  That  is 
unfortunate  for  Mr.  Manlius,  who  had  intended  propos 
ing  to  make  a  selection  of  that  place  for  his  first  ex 
perimental  excursion.  I  was  in  hopes,  sir,  that  I  might 
ohtain  from  you  such  letters  of  introduction  to  prom 
inent  persons  in  the  neighborhood  as  would  have  facili 
tated  my  inquiries,  as  well  as  learn  some  particulars 
respecting  the  character  of  the  village,  and  the  names 
of  some  of  the  families  that  would  be  likely  to  receive 
with  favor  my  proposition." 

"  I  am  sorry  I  cannot  be  of  service  to  you,  Mr. 
Manlius,  but  really  I  knew  very  few  people,  and  I 
don't  think  any  letters  of  introduction  from  me  would 
have  been  of  much  service,"  and  he  smiled  to  himself. 

"  H'm  !  "  said  Mr.  Manlius,  "  I  regret  that  our  inter 
view  should  have  been  so  unsatisfactory.  You  have  a 
right  to  keep  to  yourself,  Mr.  Judge,  so  plain  a  piece 
of  information  as  to  where  you  came  from.  But  I 
must  say,"  and  he  rose  and  buttoned  his  coat  about 
him,  —  "I  must  say  that  a  young  man  makes  a  wrong 
start  in  life  who  conceals  the  facts  of  his  bejnnnins;.  I 

O  O 

was  a  poor  boy  in  Keunebunk.  You  may  go  there  to 
night  and  ask  any  of  the  middle-aged  people  if  they 
remember  Soprian  Maulius,  and  I  am  not  afraid  of 
their  verdict.  You  may  track  my  course  from  that 
day  to  this,  but  you  will  find  it  in  the  light,  Mr.  Judge, 
in  the  light.  There  is  nothing  to  cover  up,"  and  he 
looked  severely  at  the  young  man. 

"As  I  said  before,"  said  Nicholas,  "there  are  circum 
stances  which  make  it  proper  that  I  should  be  silent 
here  as  to  my  recent  life,  though,  of  course,  I  conceal 
nothing  from  my  aunt ;  but  all  this  comes  from  no 
fault  of  miue  ; "  and  he  colored  as  one  does  who  is 
called  upon  to  assert  his  own  virtue  in  general  terras. 

"  I  trust  you  will   find  nothing  to  cover  up   in  your 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  73 

present  life,"  said  Mr.  Maulius,  with  magisterial  sever 
ity,  as  he  took  leave.  Nicholas  passed  up-stairs,  did 
not  enter  his  aunt's  chamber,  but  kept  on  to  his  own 
room,  where  he  went  to  work  vigorously  to  throw  off 
the  disagreeable  air  which  his  visitor  had  managed  to 
enwrap  him  with.  "  I  shall  be  thankful  when  I  am 
through,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  and  can  make  all  this 
clear.  And  yet,  who  is  Mr.  Manlius  ?  and  why  should 
I  trouble  myself  about  his  good  or  his  poor  opinion  of 
me  ?  "  Nevertheless  he  did  find  it  galling  to  stand  to 
this  'man  in  the  relation  of  a  suspected  person.  Mr. 
Manlius,  meanwhile,  though  he  had  not  accomplished 
either  of  the  two  purposes  he  had  in  view  in  his  visit, 
was  not  ill-pleased  with  the  result ;  indeed,  the  very 
defeat  which  he  suffered  in  his  attempt  to  examine 
Nicholas's  workshop,  and  to  find  out  his  former  home, 
constituted  important  testimony,  in  his  mind,  in  confir 
mation  of  the  theory  upon  which  he  was  pursuing  his 
investigation. 

"  Why  should  he  be  unwilling  to  see  me  in  his  work 
shop  ?  "  he  asked  himself.  "  I  am  not  an  ignorant  per 
son  to  meddle  with  his  dangerous  compounds.  Why 
should  he  conceal  his  former  residence  ?  There  is  some 
thing  very  suspicious  about  that.  It  must  be  ferreted 
out.  We  must  get  at  the  bottom  of  this."  He  was 
meditating  on  this  the  next  afternoon  as  he  walked 
home  from  his  office,  when  hearing  a  familiar  voice  he 
turned  and  saw  Miss  Fix  bidding  good-by  to  a  smiling 
German,  whom  he  recognized  as  one  of  the  four  friends 
he  had  met  Christmas  eve. 

"  You  are  going  to  the  court,  Miss  Fix  ?  Let  me 
have  the  honor  of  escorting  you,"  said  Mr.  Manlius. 
"  That  was  one  of  the  foreigners,  I  believe,  that  I  met 
at  your  house  upon  the  occasion  of  your,  —  your  little 
party." 


74  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  Oh  no,  he  is  n't  a  foreigner,"  said  Miss  Fix.  "  He 
has  been  here  several  years,  has  taken  out  his  natural 
ization  papers,  votes,  and  sends  his  children  to  the  pub 
lic  schools.  Oh  no,  Mr.  Pfeiffer  is  not  a  foreigner," 
and  she  looked  demurely  at  the  bulky  man  beside  her. 

"  Very  good,"  said  he,  "  very  good.  Politically  he 
may  not  be.  In  our  country  we  give  a  welcome  to 
the  oppressed  of  other  lands  and  invite  them  to  partake 
of  the  advantages  which  our  freedom  and  our  great 
institutions  give  them.  But  nature  makes  a  difference, 

O 

Miss  Pix  ;  your  friend's  children,  or  at  any  rate  grand 
children,  may  become  American.  But  he  will  remain 
a  foreigner.  Nature  has  made  him  a  German  and  we 
cannot  tear  ourselves  from  our  mother's  —  our  mother's 
arms.  I  say  to  our  friend  Mr.  Judge,  sometimes,  — 
'  you  will  go  back  some  day  to  your  pleasant  country 
home.  You  will  not  be  able  to  destroy  the  bonds  by 
which  nature  holds  you.'  We  are  born  with  these 
temperaments,  Miss  Pix.  Mr.  Judge  now,  —  I  suppose 
when  summer  comes,  he  will  go  back,  eh  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  Mr.  Manlius.  He  will  always  go  ahead," 
said  the  little  woman,  "  not  go  back  surely,"  and  she 
looked  slyly  at  him. 

"  Very  good,  very  good,"  said  the  philosopher,  ver 
bally  patting  her  on  the  back.  "  Yes,  he  will  always 
go  ahead,  no  doubt,  no  doubt.  They  will  quite  lose 
sight  of  him  in  his  country  village.  I  suppose  —  let 
me  see  —  I  think  it  was  somewhere  in  the  centre  of 
the  state,  was  it  not,  that  he  came  from  ?  I  believe  you 
mentioned  the  place  to  me  once." 

"  If  I  did,  I  knew  more  then  than  I  do  now,"  said 
Miss  Pix.  "  I  never  asked  where  he  came  from,  and 
I  do  not  remember  that  he  ever  mentioned  it,  but  if 
there  are  any  more  such  excellent  young  men  left  in 
his  village,  I  trust  they  will  come  right  up  and  make 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  75 

themselves  known.  I'm  ready  to  adopt  any  young 
man  as  good  as  Nicholas  Judge,  for  a  nephew."  She 
spoke  so  decidedly,  that  it  seems  quite  a  wonder  there 
had  not  sprung  up  some  excellent  young  man,  to  take 
her  at  her  word. 

"  It  was  not  an  idle  curiosity  that  led  me  to  ask," 
said  Mr.  Manlius  as  they  turned  into  the  court. 
"I  am,  as  you  are  aware,  not  in  the  habit  of  concern 
ing  myself  deeply  about  my  neighbors'  affairs,  but  we 
owe  a  duty  to  society  and  to  our  own  children,  and  it 
behooves  us  to  look  well  to  the  character  of  those 
whom  we  admit  to  our  houses.  When  a  young  woman 
comes  to  me,  Miss  Fix,  she  must  show  her  references. 
I  tell  them,  '  If  you  have  a  good  character,  I  can  do 
anything  for  you,  not  otherwise.  I  have  not  seen  Mr. 
Judge's  references  yet,  Miss  Fix.  We  must  not  trust 
too  much  to  outward  appearances." 

"  No,  we  must  n't,"  said  Miss  Fix  to  herself,  as  she 
poked  her  key  into  the  key-hole  of  her  door,  and  turned 
it  sharply.  "  Some  of  the  biggest  men  I  ever  saw  have 
been  the  biggest  geese,  —  ganders  though,  I  suppose," 
she  corrected  herself,  for  Miss  Fix  had  in  her  day 
taught  other  things  than  music,  and  so  corrected  her 
self  when  necessary. 


76  THE  DWELLERS  IN 


CHAPTER  V. 

MR.  MANLIUS  saw  that  he  should  not  learn  what  he 
wished  to  know  from  Nicholas  Judge  or  his  two  friends, 
but  he  was  the  more  determined  to  find  out  where  he 
came  from.  He  borrowed  a  Business  Directory  of 
New  England  and  pored  over  it  evening  after  evening 
at  his  house,  in  hopes  of  finding  some  person  of  the 
name  of  Judge,  engaged  in  some  trade  in  some  one  of 
the  States.  Mrs.  Manilas  sat  by  him,  sewing  in  silence, 
not  daring  to  interrupt  his  evidently  profound  study; 
Mrs.  Starkey  sat  grimly  knitting  in  the  corner,  looking 
at  Mr.  Manilas  every  now  and  then,  but  quite  ignorant 
of  what  was  occupying  his  mind.  His  study  was  in 
vain,  and  he  closed  the  book  with  a  bang  one  evening 
and  pushed  it  from  him,  looking  angrily  about  the 
room. 

"  Caroline,"  he  said,  "what  makes  you  keep  this 
room  so  hot  ?  You  know  I  suffer  so  from  excessive 
heat.  The  furnace  door  ought  to  be  open."  Mrs. 
Starkey  at  the  word  rose  and  left  the  room.  "  The 
upper  door,  Eunice,"  he  called  out  after  her,  "  don't 
open  the  lower  door,  as  you  did  the  other  day." 

"  Have  you  found  it  out  yet  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Manilas, 
timidly,  when  they  were  by  themselves. 

"  Found  what  out  ?  " 

"  Why,  what  you  are  trying  to  find  out  about  that 
young  man." 

"I  am  not  trying  to  find   out  anything  about  that 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  77 

young  man,"  said  he,  surlily.  "  You  should  not  talk 
about  such  things,  Caroline.  You  only  make  yourself 
ridiculous.  Hark  !  I  believe  that  woman  is  putting  on 
more  coal." 

"  No,  she  's  sifting  some  ashes,"  said  Mrs.  Manlius, 
whose  ears  were  better  trained  to  the  nice  distinctions 
of  household  sounds. 

"  Does  she  ever  go  in  next  door  ?  "  asked  her  hus 
band. 

"  Mrs.  Blake  has  sent  in  for  both  of  us,"  Mrs.  Man 
lius  said,  "  but  we  're  too  busy  to  go  out  making  calls  on 
our  neighbors,  Mr.  Manlius."  The  pecked  hen  some 
times  turned  with  a  feeble  cackle  upon  her  husband. 
"  We  've  no  time  to  go  gadding  about." 

"  When  society  calls  upon  us  to  do  a  signal  service," 
said  Mr.  Manlius,  "  personal  considerations  are  not  to 
be  regarded.  I  think  it  would  be  well  if  you  were  to 
call  socially  upon  Mrs.  Blake.  Or,  no,  let  Eunice  go 
alone."  At  this  moment  Mrs.  Starkey  came  back  into 
the  room,  before  Mrs.  Manlius  could  recover  from  her 
astonishment,  and  her  husband  frowned  her  into  silence. 

"  Eunice,"  he  said,  "  that  Mrs.  Blake,  whom  we  saw 
Christmas  eve,  and  who  got  away  that  young  man  from 
you,  had  the  same  name  with  you,  I  believe,  did  n't 
she  ?  Eunice  Brown  ?  " 

"  It  was  all  an  accident,"  said  Mrs.  Starkey,  in  a 
feeble,  tremulous  voice.  "  Nobody  meant  to  dp  any 
thing.  It  was  all  a  mistake." 

"  Oh,  I  know  that,  Eunice,  I  know  that.  We  all 
know  that.  What  I  want  to  know  is,  how  did  you  and 
Mrs.  Blake  come  to  have  the  same  name.  Is  she  any 
relation  of  yours  ?  Did  you  ever  hear  of  any  other 
Eunice  Brown  ?  " 

"  I  am  Eunice  Starkey,"  said  she,  as  if  trying  to 
detach  herself  in  some  way  from  herself,  as  well  as 
from  Mrs.  Blake. 


78  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  Oh,  I  know  that,  but  -you  were  born  Eunice  Brown, 
nay  Brown,  as  they  say  in  France.  Why  don't  you 
go  to  see  Mrs.  Blake  ?  Perhaps  you  can  find  out  some 
relationship.  Who  knows  ?  You  tell  her  where  you 
came  from,  and  ask  her  where  she  came  from,  and  per 
haps  it  will  turn  out  that  you  know  each  other's  folks." 

Mrs.  Manlius  looked  with  some  concern  at  Mr.  Man- 
lius,  but  he  evaded  her  glance.  Mrs.  Starkey  was  talk 
ing  to  herself  and  pursing  her  mouth.  She  began  to 
knit  more  rapidly,  then  thrust  her  needle  decisively 
into  her  ball,  and  finally  said,  — 

"  Well,  I  will.     I  '11  go  this  minute." 

"  But,  Eunice,"  said  Mrs.  Manlius,  "  it 's  too  late  to 
night.  Why,  it 's  after  nine  o'clock." 

"  Just  put  some  coal  on  in  half  an  hour,  Caroline," 
said  Mrs.  Starkey,  as  she  slapped  her  knitting  on  the 
table,  and  marched  out  of  the  room. 

"  Dear,  dear,  Mr.  Manlius  !  How  could  you  ?  "  said 
his  wife  in  dismay.  "  Eunice  is  in  one  of  her  talking 
fits  again,  and  there  's  no  knowing  what  she  will  say. 
Do  stop  her." 

But  Mr.  Manlius  with  all  his  assumption  of  magis 
tracy  knew  very  well  that  it  was  of  no  use  to  try  to 
stop  Mrs.  Starkey  when  she  had  once,  so  to  speak, 
taken  the  bit  in  her  mouth,  though  the  simile  hardly 
provides  for  the  incessant  flow  of  talk  with  which 
Mrs.  Starkey  was  affected  on  such  occasions,  when  she 
passed  from  a  state  of  timid  discouragement  to  one  of 
excessive  volubility.  She  came  down-stairs  in  a  few 
minutes,  dressed  and  chattering  to  herself  as  she  came, 
having  evidently  thrown  her  wardrobe  upon  herself  as 
a  sort  of  accompaniment  to  her  speech. 

"  I  'm  all  ready,  Mr.  Manlius,  if  you  '11  see  me  to 
Mrs.  Blake's  door."  Mr.  Manlius  took  his  hat  and  they 
went  to  the  door.  It  was  snowing  hard. 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  79 

"Dear  me,"  said  she,  "snowing?  snowing!  why  I 
did  n't  know  it  snowed.  Don't  believe  she  '11  be  at 
home.  Don't  know  as  I  can  get  back  again.  Don't 
see  any  lights.  Do  you  see  any  lights,  S'prian  ?  " 

"No,"  said  he,  very  emphatically.  "The  house  is 
as  dark  as  a  pocket.  They  are  either  away,  or  gone 
to  bed." 

"  I  might  go  in  and  see  Miss  Pix,"  said  she,  feeling 
under  necessity  to  go  somewhere  or  do  something ;  "  or 
Dr.  Chocker.  Dr.  Chocker  must  be  lonely.  I  '11  go 
and  see  Dr.  Chocker.  Come,  Soprian." 

Mr.  Manlius  faintly  hoped  there  might  be  some  way 
out  of  it,  but  he  had  had  enough  experience  with  this 
unfortunate  woman  to  know  that  direct  opposition  only 
added  fuel  to  the  flame.  They  made  their  way  to  the 
door  of  Number  One,  and  rapped  upon  the  door.  The 
knock  was  answered  by  black  Maria,  who  peered  out 
at  them  in  undisguised  astonishment. 

"  Did  ye  want  to  see  my  master  or  Miss  Sally  ?  " 
she  asked. 

"  Want  to  see  Doctor  Chocker,"  spoke  up  Mrs. 
Starkey.  ''  Has  n't  got  anybody  with  him,  has  he  ? 
thought  he  was  all  alone  ?  " 

"  His  grandda'ter  came  to-night,"  said  Maria. 
"  Come  in,  ye.  Don't  stand  there  in  the  snow." 

"  Oh  we  'd  like  to  see  his  granddaughter.  We  're 
neighbors,  come  for  a  friendly  chat.  Come  along,  So 
prian."  Mr.  Manlius  walked  after  her  with  a  frown, 
tempted  to  leave  his  erratic  companion  in  the  lurch, 
but  fearful  of  what  excesses  she  might  commit  if  left 
wholly  to  herself.  They  were  ushered  into  a  sitting- 
room  which  had  plainly  been  left  to  its  own  grim  com 
pany  for  an  indefinite  length  of  time.  Only  a  light 
piece  of  cambric  with  some  stitches  of  silk  in  it  lying 
carelessly  on  the  table  gave  signs  of  a  new  occupant. 


80  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

u  I  don't  know  but  we  'd  better  go  right  up-stairs," 
said  Mrs.  Starkey ;  "  won't  stand  on  ceremony,  you 
know,"  but  luckily  before  she  could  whirl  Mr.  Maulius 
into  deeper  social  waters,  the  door  opened  and  Dr. 
Checker  with  his  ear-trumpet  appeared,  followed  by  a 
girl  of  nineteen  who  laid  her  hand  upon  his  arm  and 
looked  with  a  frank  wonder  at  her  guests. 

"  I  am  Mr.  Manlius,"  said  that  gentleman,  solemnly. 
"  This  is  Mrs.  Starkey,"  as  if  they  were  figures  from 
some  exhibition  that  had  strayed  away  and  needed  to 
point  at  themselves  with  a  long  stick.  "  Your  grand 
father  knows  us,"  and  here  he  made  a  kind  of  dumb 
show  of  introducing  Mrs.  Starkey  to  Dr.  Checker. 

"It  is  Mrs.  Starkey,  grandfather,"  said  the  girl, 
"  and  Mr.  Manlius." 

"  Oh,  I  know  them,"  said  he,  waving  his  ear-trumpet 
at  them,  "  sit  down,  sit  down.  Sally,  turn  the  light 
up  a  little.  How  d*  ye  do,  Mrs.  Starkey  ?  How 's  that 
scapegrace  of  a  nephew  of  yours  ?  abandoned  you,  did 
he  ?  "  and  the  old  gentleman  chuckled  over  the  recol 
lection. 

"He  'swell,"  said  Mrs.  Starkey.  ".Saw  him  the 
other  day.  He 's  going  to  be  a  great  chemist  or  some 
thing.  Expect  he  's  going  to  blow  us  all  up.  I  hear 
him  pounding,  pounding  away.  Lives  right  next  tons, 
you  know.  Can  hear  him  through  the  wall.  This 
your  granddaughter  ?  Did  n't  know  you  had  a  grand 
daughter.  How  d'  ye  do,  Miss  Checker."  All  but  the 
last  sentence  she  had  tumbled  into  the  ear-trumpet 
which  Dr.  Chocker  had  placed  under  her  mouth. 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  putting  the  trumpet  down  on  his 
knee,  and  looking  with  a  queer  mixture  of  pride  and 
curiosity  at  the  young  lady,  "  she  's  my  granddaughter, 
Miss  Sally  Lovering,  come  to  take  care  of  her  old 
grandfather.  There  's  no  mistake  about  it,"  he  added, 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  81 

giving  his  head  a  confirmatory  shake.  She  's  my  grand 
daughter,  and  I'm  her  grandfather.  Don't  you  go  to 
claiming  her."  At  this  Mrs.  Starkey  was  seized  with 
a  very  voluble  fit  and  poured  a  succession  of  words 
into  Dr.  Checker's  trumpet,  which  he  received  with 
great  good-nature,  occasionally  interjecting  a  comment, 
and  every  now  and  then  turning  to  look  at  his  grand 
daughter,  as  if  to  satisfy  himself  that  she  was  there. 
Miss  Levering  was  very  certainly  there,  sitting  under 
the  light  and  working  dexterously  at  the  cambric,  as  if 
it  was  the  most  commonplace  matter  in  the  world,  to 
be  in  this  stiff  room,  entertaining  a  large,  florid  man 
who  was  an  entire  stranger  to  her,  and  overhearing 
her  grandfather  talk  with  a  thin  visaged  woman  whose 
tongue  seemed  untied  after  long  restraint. 

'•  You  have  arrived  lately,  Miss  Levering,  I  believe," 
said  Mr.  Manlius,  lending  all  the  time  an  ear  to  the 
other  couple. 

"  This  very  evening,"  said  she.  "  I  have  made  no 
very  long  journey,  only  from  Kingston ;  I  have  not 
been  here  since  I  was  a  little  girl,  yet  it  all  seems  very 
familiar.  I  do  not  see  that  the  court  has  changed  at 
all,  nor  grandfather's  house,  but  I  suppose  the  same 
people  are  not  all  living  here.  You  were  not  living 
here  thirteen  years  ago,  were  you  ?  I  think  I  should 
have  remembered  you,  if  you  had  been,  for  I  used  to 
play  in  the  court." 

"  We  have  lived  in  this  little  place  about  five  years," 
said  Mr.  Manlius,  "  about  five  years,"  with  an  air  as  if 
they  were  only  staying  here  for  temporary  purposes, 
being  accustomed  to  much  roomier  quarters. 

"  I  think  it 's  the  drollest  little  place,"  said  Miss  Lov- 

ering.     "  I  remember  very  well  that  the  last  fcouse  at 

the  end  is  in  a  jog  of  the  court  and  in   the  house  just 

before  it,  there  used   to   live   a  lovely  woman,  a  Mrs. 

6 


82  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

Blake  who  was  confined  to  her  room.     I  remember 
her  perfectly.     She  was  very  kind  to  me." 

"  She  still  lives  there,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  and  he  be 
gan  to  frown  in  anticipation  of  some  remark  upon 
Nicholas  which  he  meant  to  make,  when  they  both 
heard  Mrs.  Starkey  say  in  a  positive  manner,  — 

"  Nicholas  Judge  is  a  very  remarkable  young  man. 
Very  few  young  men  like  him." 

"  Why  I  know  a  Nicholas  Judge,"  said  Miss  Lover- 
ing  to  Mr.  Manlius.  "  At  least  I  do  not  know  him 
myself,  though  I  have  seen  him.  He  lived  in  Kings 
ton  with  his  father  until  he  died." 

'•Did  lie  come  from  there  last  Christmas?"  asked 
Mr.  Manlius,  pulling  his  waistcoat  down  and  sitting  up 
straighten 

"  Yes,  I  think  it  must  have  been  just  about  Christ 
mas.  I  remember  I  have  not  seen  him  since  then." 

"  Soprian,"  said  Mrs.  Starkey,  "  we  must  go.  Caro- 
.line  will  be  troubled." 

"  In  one  moment,  Eunice.  Did  the  young  man  bear 
a  good  Character,  Miss  Levering  ? "  Miss  Levering 
hesitated. 

"  I  did  not  know  him  myself,"  said  she.  "  Very 
few  people  in  the  village  did  know  him.  His  father 
lived  by  himself,  and  he  never  made  acquaintances,  but 
his  face  was  not  against  him." 

"  A  very  imperfect  means  of  judging,  Miss  Lover- 
ing,  very  imperfect,"  and  Mr.  Manlius  shook  his  head 
impressively.  "  He  is  living  in  this  court,  Miss  Lover- 
ing,"  and  then  sinking  his  voice  to  an  ominous  whisper, 
"  he  is  living  with  Mrs.  Blake,  his  reputed  aunt." 

"  Reputed  aunt  ?  "  questioned  Miss  Levering,  with 
undisguised  curiosity. 

"  Come,  S'prian,"    said    Mrs.    Starkey,  decisively. 
"  Glad  to  see  you,  Miss  Checker.     Come    to  see  us. 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  83 

We  live  in  Number  Three  —  always  at  home.  Lizzy 
and  Dizzy  would  like  to  know  you.  Mr.  Manlius's  girls 
—  Mrs.  Manlius's  girls,  twelve  and  thirteen,  —  disagree 
able  age." 

"  I  shall  be  glad  to  come,"  said  Miss  Lovering,  giv 
ing  her  hand  to  Mrs.  Starkey,  who  marched  off  with 
Mr.  Manlius  behind  her. 

"  Good  evening,  Dr.  Checker,"  said  Mr.  Manlius, 
lowering  the  words  into  the  trumpet.  "  I  am  glad  to 
see  you  in  such  excellent  health." 

"  Um,"  grunted  the  Doctor.  "  Take  care  of  Mrs. 
Starkey.  She  '11  be  finding  another  nephew  if  you 
don't  look  out." 

"  Grandfather,"  said  Miss  Lovering,  after  they  were 
gone,  "  how  social  you  are.  Do  your  neighbors  drop 
in  often  in  this  way  ?  I  shall  begin  to  think  you  did  n't 
need  Sally  for  company." 

"  Never  you  mind  about  our  neighbors,  Sally,"  said 
the  old  gentleman,  shuffling  out  of  the  room  ;  "  they  're 
a  poor  lot,  most  of  'em;  we  can  get  along  without 
them,  but  we  '11  be  civil.  But  what  will  you  do,  Sally, 
here  with  your  old  grandfather,  eh  ?  " 

"  Grandfather,  if  you  '11  only  let  me  have  a  piano 
here,  I  shall  be  perfectly  contented  ;  then  you  '11  let  me 
sit  and  read  in  your  study,  when  you  're  at  work,  won't 
you  ?  "  She  spoke  in  coaxing  tones,  and  had  such  a 
pretty  way  of  letting  her  words  slip  round  the  corners 
of  her  mouth,  as  it  were,  that  a  harder  heart  than  Dr. 
Checker's  would  have  melted  at  once. 

"  A  piano  ?  for .  me  to  dance  to,  I  suppose.  Well, 
well,  we  '11  see  about  it." 

The  next  morning  at  breakfast,  as  Dr.  Checker  sat 
in  his  tasseled  cap,  looking  every  now  and  then  at  the 
bright  face  under  a  breakfast-cap  that  he  saw  behind 
the  coffee  urn,  opposite,  an  unwonted  sight  indeed,  he 
turned  to  the  servant  and  asked, — 


84 

"  Maria,  what  is  the  name  of  that  frisky  little  woman 
that  had  a  party  Christmas  eve,  here  in  the  court,  eh  ?  " 

"  It  was  Miss  Fix,  master." 

"  That 's  it,  Miss  Fix.  Sally,  we  '11  go  over  and  see 
Miss  Fix  after  breakfast,  and  get  a  piano." 

"  Why,  is  there  a  piano  store  right  here  in  the 
court  ?  " 

"  Almost,"  said  the  old  gentleman,  nodding  to  her. 
"  We  have  all  sorts  of  neighbors,  Sally.  I  don't  mind 
your  seeing  Miss  Fix.  She  ?s  a  frisky  little  woman. 
We  '11  have  to  catch  her  early,  I  suppose." 

Dr.  Checker  seemed  in  great  haste  to  finish  his 
breakfast,  and  wait  upon  Miss  Fix.  The  truth  was, 
although  the  visit,  with  reference  to  permanent  estab 
lishment  in  his  house  of  Miss  Sally  Loveriug,  had  come 
to  pass  only  after  a  series  of  letters  between  him  and 
her  aunts,  with  whom  she  had  of  late  been  living,  now 
that  she  was  here,  he  was  somewhat  embarrassed  by  the 
new  responsibilities  that  her  coming  imposed  upon  him. 
He  had  groaned  inwardly  over  the  prospect  of  having 
a  giddy  girl  invading  his  quarters,  in  which  he  had 
lived  so  long  in  a  state  of  second  bachelorhood,  but 
when  she  came  with  her  bright  face  and  merry,  frank 
manner,  he  was  seized  with  suddeiucompunction  at  the 
dismal  prospect  for  her,  which  beseemed  suddenly  to 
see.  The  suggestion  of  a  piano  was  to  him  little  short 
of  an  inspiration.  To  be  sure,  Sally  could  make  music 
all  day  long.  She  would  practice,  he  supposed,  and 
the  idea  of  practice  to  the  old  gentleman  was  that  of 
interminably  working  at  the  instrument  without  ex 
hausting  its  capabilities. 

So,  breakfast  over,  Dr.  Chocker  muffled  himself  in 
his  wraps,  and,  taking  Sally  on  his  arm,  marched  over 
to  Miss  Fix's.  Sally  looked  curiously  at  the  houses, 
recalling  her  childish  recollection  of  them. 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  85 

"  They  always  seemed  like  five  old  ladies  to  me, 
grandfather,"  said  she. 

"  They  dou't  gossip  like  five  old  ladies,  Sally.  Don't 
you  ever  grow  to  be  an  old  lady."  Sally  laughed.  Old 
age  was  such  a  far-off  evil ! 

Miss  Fix  was  at  home,  and  the  little  parlor  which 
had  not  yet  wholly  laid  aside  its  garniture  of  green 
seemed  to  Sally  a  delightful  little  place,  as  they  sat 
waiting  for  the  lady  of  the  house.  Piles  of  music  were 
upon  the  piano  and  in  racks.  Sally  looked  at  the  in 
strument  to  see  the  maker's  name.  Her  fingers  begged 
for  the  keys,  and  she  just  touched  a  chord  gently  when 
Miss  Fix  came  in  and  met  her  blushing  face. 

"  Ah,  you  have  been  shaking  hands  with  my  best 
friend  ?  And  you  are  Dr.  Checker's  granddaughter.  I 
am  so  delighted  to  see  you.  He  ought  to  have  a  grand 
daughter.  I  always  said  so,  Dr.  Checker,"  and  she 
seized  his  arm  that  held  the  trumpet,  as  if  she  were 
pulling  his  ear.  "  You  have  taken  ten  years  off  my 
shoulders.  I  have  really  been  growing  thin  with  anx 
iety  for  you,  shut  up  all  alone  in  that  house.  I  'm  glad 
you  've  opened  the  shutters  and  let  some  sunlight  in. 
I  'm  tropical,  my  dear,"  she  explained  to  Miss  Lover- 
ing.  "  Your  grandfather  always  sets  the  words  flying 
in  my  head." 

"She's  young,  Sally,"  spoke  up  the  old  gentleman, 
"  you  may  grow  as  old  as  she  is,"  and  he  wagged  his 
trumpet  with  delight  at  his  impertinence.  "  Now,  Miss 
Fix,  we  want  some  neighborly  advice."  Miss  Fix  sat 
down  and  smoothed  her  apron  and  her  face  into  unex 
ampled  wisdom.  "  My  granddaughter  here,  Sally  Lov- 
ering,  has  come  to  live  with  me  for  the  present,  and 
you  know  I  don't  sing  much,  so  I  thought  I  would  get 
a  good  stout  piano  for  her  to  practice  on  when  I  was 
busy  and  she  did  n't  know  what  to  do  with  herself.  I 
can  hire  one,  can't  I  ?  " 


86  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  Oh,  yes,  indeed,"  said  Miss  Pix.  "  That 's  easily 
done.  I  '11  do  it  for  you,  if  you  'd  like  to  have  me. 
What  kind  of  piano  have  you  been  using,  Miss  Lover- 
ing?" 

"  It  is  by  the  same  maker  as  yours,"  said  she. 

"  Oh,  then  there  '11  be  no  difficulty ;  not  the  least  in 
the  world.  Dr.  Chocker,  would  you  like  me  to  help 
Miss  Sally  choose  an  instrument  ?  " 

"  That 's  the  advice  I  meant  to  ask,"  said  the  Doctor, 
drily. 

"  Let  me  see,"  said  the  little  woman,  thoughtfully  ; 
"  I  must  go  to  the  Bangses  at  ten,  to  the  Churches  at 
half-past  eleven,  dinner  at  one  —  will  you  go  now,  my 
dear,  or  wait  till  one  ?  " 

"  Oh,  let  us  go  now,"  said  Sally  ;  "  if  grandfather  will 
let  me.  You  are  very  kind,  Miss  Pix." 

"Oh,  not  at  all,  not  at  all,  as  people  politely  say. 
It 's  a  great  secret,  but  I  don't  mind  telling  you.  I  get 
a  commission  when  I  help  people  select  pianos." 

"  Oh  !  "   said  Miss  Lovering,  somewhat  blankly. 

"  Not  from  you,  my  dear ;  not  for  the  world  from 
you.  I  get  it  from  the  manufacturer.  He  charges 
you  just  the  same.  I  don't  know  as  I  ought  to  have 
it  this  time,  because  I  did  n't  exactly  recommend  him 
to  you.  What  do  you  think  ? "  and  Miss  Pix  knit 
her  brow  and  was  much  exercised  in  mind.  "  Let 's 
ask  your  grandfather." 

"  But  it 's  nearly  ten,  Miss  Pix,  and  I  am  afraid  it 
would  take  some  time  to  settle  the  question.  Why 
not  get  the  piano  any  way,  and  then  you  can  settle 
about  the  commission  afterward." 

"  Well,"  said  Miss  Pix,  jumping  up,  glad  of  some 
reprieve,  "  that 's  true ;  you  must  have  your  piano, 
any  way.  I  'm  so  glad  you  like  music.  I  am  very 
fond  of  it ;  but,  dear  me,  my  pupils  take  up  pretty 
much  all  my  time." 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  87 

Dr.  Checker  left  the  ladies  and  went  back  to  his 
books,  somewhat  disposed  to  be  querulous  over  the 
slice  of  a  half  hour  out  of  his  morning  work,  but  the 
recollection  of  his  granddaughter's  bright  face  partially 
did  for  him  what  her  presence  was  sure  to  do  —  restored 
him  to  good-nature.  "  I  suppose  I  'm  getting  old,"  he 
muttered  to  himself,  as  he  left  the  house,  "  and  can't 
be  left  alone.  Well,  I  'd  rather  be  left  in  Sally's  hands 
than  in  some  other  people's."  Perhaps  he  was  spirit 
ually  cognizant  of  his  neighbor  Manlius,  who  just  then 
opened  the  door  of  his  house  and  came  forth,  traveling- 
bag  in  hand,  while  the  door-way  was  filled  by  Mrs. 
Manlius,  looking  very  heated,  Mrs.  Starkey,  rather 
wobegone,  and  Lizzy  and  Dizzy,  the  latter  jumping  up 
and  down  to  get  a  sight  of  her  retreating  father. 

"  Good-morning,  Dr.  Checker,"  said  Mr.  Maulius ; 
"  I  hope  you  find  yourself  well  this  morning.  You 
are  taking  the  cool  morning  air,  I  presume." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Doctor  ;  "  I  take  it  as  it  comes.  It 
happens  to  be  cool  this  February  morning.  Going  out 
of  town  ?  " 

"  Some  business,  partly  of  a  public,  partly  of  a 
private  nature,  takes  me  into  the  country  to-day,"  said 
Mr.  Manlius,  with  dignity.  "  I  shall  very  likely  com 
municate  with  you,  on  my  return,  respecting  it ; "  and 
he  looked  at  the  old  gentleman  with  a  most  solemn 
face. 

"  Heard  of  the  death  of  a  dear  friend  ?  "  asked  Dr. 
Checker,  sharply. 

"  It  may  be,  it  may  be,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  mysteri 
ously.  "  But  I  must  be  in  season  for  my  train.  Good- 
morning." 

"  Pumpkin  head  !  "  said  the  Doctor,  more  vigorously 
than  politely,  as  he  swung  his  ear-trumpet,  and  walked 
with  quick,  short  steps  to  his  house. 


88  THE  DWELLERS  IN 


CHAPTER  VI. 

MR.  MANLIUS  had  profited  by  his  information  acci 
dentally  obtained  the  night  before,  and  resolving  to 
use  a  masterly  activity,  had  set  out  for  Kingston,  to 
inform  himself,  by  personal  inquiry  into  the  antecedents 
of  Nicholas  Judge.  He  was  doubtful  of  the  expediency 
of  examining  Miss  Lovering  minutely ;  at  any  rate, 
whatever  she  could  tell  him  would  better  be  confirma 
tory  of  his  own  knowledge  obtained  from  other  sources; 
and  there  even  lay,  in  the  darker  background  of  his 
mind,  a  possible  coup  de  theatre,  in  which  Miss  Lover- 
ing  might  be  an  important  actor  if  now  left  to  herself. 
Kingston  was  only  two  or  three  hours  distant,  and  he 
expected  to  be  home  again  in  the  evening,  but  he  had 
taken  his  bag,  partly  as  a  precaution  against  any  pos 
sible  detention,  but  more  from  the  moral  support  which 
it  gave  him.  A  man  traveling  without  a  bag  lacks  the 
credentials  of  a  traveler.  Mr.  Manlius  had  his  note 
book  also  with  him,  and  studied  it  attentively  in  the 
train,  now  and  then  jotting  down  some  brief  memo 
randum,  adding  thus  to  the  impressiveness  which  his 
figure  and  air  could  not  fail  to  produce.  He  had  never 
been  in  Kingston,  but  knew  it  as  a  country  village, 
placed  high,  in  a  farming  country,  at  the  foot  of  a  so- 
called  mountain.  Hound  Top  was  a  fair  result  of 
nature's  exertions  in  the  immediate  neighborhood,  and 
since  it  was  detached  from  any  group  or  chain  of 
hills,  there  was  more  reason  for  giving  it  the  title  of 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  89 

mountain,  though  it  had  no  ravines  or  deep  scorings  on 
its  face.  One  side  was  partly  cultivated,  partly  pasture 
land ;  the  other  a  tangle  of  wood,  with  deep  moss  and 
fallen  tree  trunks,  damp  and  cold.  A  path  led  to  the 
top,  beginning  as  a  broad  wood  road,  but  gradually 
becoming  languid,  and  contenting  itself  with  the  easier 
and  less  ambitious  career  of  a  footpath,  allowing  itself 
to  be  overgrown,  and  the  lodging  place  of  such  loose 
stones  as  rolled  down  the  side  of  the  hill. 

Mr.  Maulius,  on  reaching  the  station  at  Kingston, 
found  a  venerable  carryall  which  professed  to  run  from 
the  depot  to  the  village,  but  though  the  driver,  Silas 
King,  whipped  his  horse  with  a  monotonous  regularity 
all  the  way,  and  had  whipped  him  in  the  same  way 
for  several  years  on  his  twice-a-day  excursion,  he  had 
not  yet  succeeded  in  producing  what  could  honestly  be 
called  a  run.  The  principal  feature  of  the  carryall  that 
had  predestined  it  for  a  carriage  to  go  to  the  depot,  was 
a  pair  or  several  pairs  rather,  of  unfolding  steps  that 
gave  the  vehicle  a  highly  professional  look.  When 
Silas  had  opened  the  door  and  developed  the  narrow 
staircase  that  had  been  folded  against  it,  and  had  as 
sisted  a  passenger  to  walk  up  the  staircase  by  the  easy 
gradation  to  the  height  of  some  two  feet,  and  had 
slammed  the  door  and  folded  up  the  steps  with  an  os 
tentatious  clatter,  the  ceremony  seemed  to  invest  the 
vehicle  with  an  importance  that  even  lent  dignity  to  the 
railway  itself. 

This  time  Silas  was  especially  consequential,  for  the 
size  of  Mr.  Manlius  and  his  evident  weight  of  character, 
could  certainly  belong  to  no  common  person,  and  Silas 
at  once  set  him  down  as  a  capitalist.  A  capitalist  was  a 
person  whom  Silas  had  long  been  looking  for  with  great 
expectation.  Ever  since  the  railway  had  been  opened, 
indeed  ever  since  it  had  first  been  projected,  he  had 


90  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

heard  of  the  vast  change  it  would  make  in  the  value  of 
property  in  Kingston.  People  had  said  that  capitalists 
would  come  and  buy  land  and  establish  a  great  hotel, 
or  start  a  factory,  or  perform  some  magical  touch  which 
only  capitalists  can  perform,  and  Silas  had  taken  up  the 
occupation  of  running  a  stage  to  the  depot  with  the 
secret  purpose  of  getting  the  first  chance  with  any 
capitalist  who  might  come  from  the  city.  He  himself 
had  a  piece  of  property,  a  few  acres  on  the  side  of 
Round  Top,  and  though  he  never  had  been  able  to  do 
much  with  it,  he  was  not  a  capitalist,  and  if  he  could 
catch  one  of  those  men,  he  was  confident  that  his  for 
tune  would  be  made.  So  he  presented  himself  with 
his  carriage,  as  a  kind  of  testimonial  to  his  importance 
as  a  landed  proprietor,  and  watched  daily  for  the  cap 
italist. 

The  snow  lay  on  the  ground,  but  it  had  not  been  a 
heavy  fall,  and  as  the  roads  were  otherwise  pretty  hard, 
the  carryall  could  thump  along  at  its  usual  rate.  Silas 
waited  a  few  minutes  for  any  other  passenger  whom 
he  might  have  overlooked,  and  then  settled  himself  in 
his  seat  for  a  comfortable  chat  with  his  passenger,  keep 
ing  an  eye  out  for  business. 

"  Business  good  down  in  the  city  ?  " 

"  Fair,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  who  was  about  as  inti 
mately  acquainted  with  the  business  of  the  city  as  Silas 
himself.  "  Fair.  We  're  are  hoping  for  better  times." 

"  Ah,"  said  Silas.  "  Well,  now  up  here  in  Kingston, 
folks  say  we  're  going  to  have  a  lively  summer,"  which 
certainly  showed  great  foreknowledge  on  somebody's 
part,  it  being  now  February. 

"  So,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  "  likely  to  have  good 
crops  ?"  Silas  looked  at  him  a  moment  curiously. 

"  Farming  's  about  played  out  here,"  said  he,  "  but  if 
you'd  like  to  try  it,  I  know  just  about  the  nicest  farm 
for  sale,  within  ten  miles,  just  about  the  nicest." 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  91 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  reflectively.  "  I  am  not 
disposed  to  buy  for  farming  purposes  just  now  ;  I  'm 
more  interested  in  people  ; "  and  he  smiled  a  superior 
smile. 

"  Eh,"  said  Silas.  "  Do  you  know  a  fine  view  when 
you  see  it  ?  a  view  that  takes  in  forty  miles  at  a 
stretch  ?  Now,  I  know  a  piece  of  ground  for  a  hotel 
that  ain't  to  be  matched,  not  this  side  of  the  city.  You 
can  see  the  dome  of  the  State  House  on  a  clear  day. 
Folks  have  said  they  can  see  it  by  moonlight,  but  I 
never  did,"  he  added  with  candor.  "  Right  on  the  side 
of  Round  Top,  a  good  spring  on  the  premises,  fust  rate 
road  to  the  top,  wants  a  little  sprucing  up,  that 's  all." 

"  Good  water  privilege  ? "  asked  Mr.  Manlius,  in  a 
general  way. 

"  Water  privilege !  why,  it 's  my  opinion  that  the 
brook  that  runs  right  through  my  place  never  had  a 
fair  chance  yet.  Just  drain  it  up  in  the  meadow  back 
of  my  lot,  let  it  lie  round  there,  arid  then  turn  it  on, 
and  you  'd  have  such  a  water  power  as  would  make 
the  fortune  of  any  factory  in  the  country." 

"  But  could  you  get  operatives  enough  about  here  to 
run  it  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Manlius,  edging  up  to  his  own  in 
terests. 

"  Operatives  ?  why  you  could  find  girls  right  about 
here  on  the  farms  that  would  fill  your  factory  right  up. 
Operatives !  " 

"  Well  now,  my  friend,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  "  don't 
you  suppose  the  girls  here  on  the  farms  would  rather 
go  to  the  city,  and  earn  their  living  there,  and  have 
comfortable  homes  and  social  privilege  ?  Why  they 
can  earn  nearly  twenty-five  per  cent,  more,  though  it 
does  n't  look  like  it  at  first." 

"  Earn  their  living,  how  ?  " 

"  Why,  by  living  out  as  cooks,  chamber-maids,  nur 
sery  girls,  and  so  forth." 


92  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  No  sirree.  Our  girls  don't  want  any  of  that  kind 
of  life,  but  give  'em  a  factory  here,  and  they  '11  flock 
into  it." 

"  I  've  had  a  good  deal  of  experience  in  this  matter, 
sir,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  "  and  I  can  tell  you  that  girls 
are  ten  times  better  off  who  go  into  families  than  those 
who  go  to  work  in  factories.  Now,  take  your  people 
round  here,  don't  you  know  some  family,  where  there  's 
one  girl  too  many  ?  and  has  n't  she  got  some  friend  ? 
now  if  those  two  girls  were  to  go  to  the  city  and  get 
places,  they  'd  see  each  other,  just  about  the  same  as  at 
home,  and  have  a  first-rate  time  besides." 

"  Well,"  said  Silas,  "  none  of  our  girls  that  I  ever 
heard  on,  went  to  live  out  in  the  city,  and  they  might 
like  to  go,  if  there  was  fun  in  it.  Girls  are  mighty 
glad  to  have  a  good  time." 

"  I  suppose  your  minister  would  know  if  there  were 
any  such." 

"Are*you  looking  out  for  a  girl?"  asked  Silas, 
turning  full  upon  him.  "  Why  I  thought  you  was  a 
capitalist." 

"  Something  so,  something  so,"  said  Mr.  Manlius 
slowly.  "  I  am  a  contractor,  so  to  speak.  Let  me  see, 
what  is  your  minister's  name  ?  " 

"There's  more 'n  one  minister  in  town,  I  should 
hope,"  said  Silas ;  "  my  minister  is  Mr.  Levering." 

"Ah,  that's  the  gentleman  I  want  to  see,"  said  Mr. 
Manlius.  "  Just  drive  me  to  his  house  will  you.  I 
have  some  little  business  with  him.  By  the  bye,  did 
you  ever  have  a  young  man  in  town  here  named  Nich 
olas  Judge  ?  " 

"  Nicholas  Judge  !  "  said  Silas,  turning  square  round 
upon  his  questioner.  "  Do  I  know  Nicholas  Judge  ? 
Yes,  I  do,  and  I  knew  Simon  Judge,  too ;  was  he  any 
relation  of  yourn  ?  " 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  93 

"  No,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  with  emphasis  ;  "  he 
was  not.  What  can  you  tell  me  about  this  Simon 
Judge." 

"  I  don't  want  to  tell  you  much  about  him.  He 
poisoned  my  sister." 

"Extraordinary!"  said  Mr.  Manlius.  "I  don't  wish 
to  recall  painful  recollections,  young  man,  but  what 
you  say  strangely  affects  me.  Let  me  see,  what  did 
you  say  your  name  was  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  as  I  said,"  said  he,  "  but  I  Ve  no  ob 
jection  to  telling  my  name.  It 's  Silas  King.  I  live 
up  there  on  the  side  of  Round  Top.  You  can  see  the 
clearing,  along  by  that  row  of  maples.  I  don't  want 
to  talk  now  about  Dr.  Simon  Judge.  He  's  dead  and 
gone,  and  that 's  the  end  of  him,  if  it  ain't  of  the  rest 
of  us.  Here 's  Mr.  Lovering's."  They  stopped  in 
front  of  the  modest  parsonage,  and  Mr.  Manlius 
alighted  from  the  venerable  carryall. 

"  Going  back  this  afternoon  ?  "  asked  Silas,  as  he 
took  his  fare. 

"  Yes,  I  expect  to  return  by  the  train  that  leaves  at 
3.30.  You  will  start  from  the  hotel,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  shall,  at  three  o'clock.  My  carriage 
runs  regular." 

"  Well,  I  shall  want  to  go  down  with  you,"  said  Mr. 
Manlius.  "  I  want  to  see  you,  Silas." 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Lovering  had  seen  the  depot  carriage 
stop,  as  he  looked  out  of  his  study  window,  and  seeing 
Mr.  Manlius  with  his  bag,  was  trying  to  determine  in 
his  own  mind  whether  he  was  to  have  a  call  from  a 
book  agent  or  the  agent  for  some  benevolent  society. 
He  was  tolerably  well  acquainted  with  the  regular 
members  of  the  latter  fraternity,  and  besides  it  was  not 
Saturday,  so  that  he  had  resigned  himself  to  the  belief 
that  he  was  to  be  asked  to  examine  some  book  which 


94  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

it  was  to  be  his  solemn  duty  to  recommend  to  his  par 
ishioners.  He  was  an  elderly  man  and  had  long  ago 
given  over  the  attempt  to  exclude  these  merchants  from 
his  house,  but  listened  patiently  and  then  tried,  as  he 
said,  to  do  them  a  little  good,  taking  for  a  text  some 
passage  in  the  book  before  him.  In  this  way  he  had, 
to  his  surprise,  sometimes  flanked  his  adversary  and 
been  left  to  himself  suddenly.  On  such  occasions  he 
trusted  that  his  bow  drawn  at  a  venture  had  sent  its 
arrow~>  home  to  tlie  conscience. 

Mr.  Manlius  was  ushered  into  the  study,  bearing  his 
bag,  which  he  placed  by  his  side  as  he  took  his  seat. 

"  Good-morning,  Mr.  Lovering,"  said  he.  "  I  hope 
I  find  you  quite  well  ?  My  name  is  Manlius.  I  am 
somewhat  of  a  stranger  in  your  village,  but  I  believe 
I  have  the  honor  of  a  slight  acquaintance  with  your 
daughter,  or  granddaughter,  and  her  esteemed  grand 
father,  the  learned  Dr.  Checker."  Mr.  Lovering  looked 
a  little  puzzled. 

"  I  fear  you  are  misinformed,"  he  replied,  taking  off 
his  glasses  and  slowly  rubbing  them.  "  I  am,  it  is  true, 
somewhat  advanced  in  years,  and  have  had  time  to  have 
even  a  granddaughter,  but  I  have  not  taken  the  neces 
sary  steps,  as  I  think.  I  have  never  yet  been  married." 

"  Oh,  ah,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  somewhat  disconcerted. 
"  Dr.  Checker  is  a  neighbor  of  mine,  and  I  have  lately 
met  at  his  house  a  Miss  Sally  Lovering,  who  purports 
to  have  come  from  Kingston,"  and  he  began  to  think 
the  innocent  village  a  nest  of  impostors. 

"  Very  likely,  very  likely,"  said  Mr.  Lovering,  "  there 
is  a  family  of  two  maiden  ladies  of  my  name  living 
here,  who  had  a  young  niece,  I  believe.  They  were 
no  connection  of  mine,  and  were  indeed  attendants  at 
the  Episcopal  church,  —  very  excellent  ladies,  though, 
I  am  informed.  Miss  Lovering  did  not  send  you  to 
me?" 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  95 

"  Not  directly,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  who  was  loth  to 
abandon  the  social  claim  which  he  supposed  he  should 
quickly  establish.  "  I  came  to  Kingston  on  a  matter 
of  business,  and  I  naturally  came  first  to  one  whom  I 
supposed  to  be  related  to  my  young  friend  ; "  and  Mr. 
Manlius  eyed  the  minister  sharply,  to  see  whether  he 
were  not,  even  now,  playing  some  game  with  him. 

"  Ah,"  said  Mr.  Lovering,  who  always  waited  pa 
tiently  the  first  attack  of  book-agents,  and  sat  now 
slowly  rubbing  his  spectacles  and  smiling  absently. 

"My  errand  is  of  a  double  character,  sir,"  continued 
Mr.  Manlius.  "  I  am  engaged  in  the  occupation  of 
providing  homes  for  young  country  girls  who  coine  to 
the  city,  and  have  thought  it  every  way  proper  to  come 
first  to  you  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  to  explain  my 
errand  in  town." 

"  Ah  ! "  said  Mr.  Lovering,  putting  on  his  glasses  and 
looking  straight  at  the  man. 

"  Yes,  sir.  I  have  long  been  of  the  conviction  that 
more  systematic  provision  should  be  made  for  the  needs 
of  young  women  who  leave  their  country  homes,  and 
for  those  families  in  the  city  that  stand  in  need  of,  — 
of  assistance  in  the  care  of  the  household."  The  case 
was  so  delicately  put  that  Mr.  Lovering  did  not  at  first 
see  the  exact  bearing  of  it. 

"  Do  I  understand  that  you  are  in  the  employ  of 
some  benevolent  society  ?  " 

"  I  am  in  the  interests  of  society  at  large,"  said  Mr. 
Manlius,  with  dignity.  "  Every  country  girl  who 
brings  the  simplicity  of  country  life  to  our  city  fire 
sides,  and  every  city  family  that  gives  shelter  and  a 
home  to  the  innocent  country  girl  are  engaged  with 
me  in  this  important  work." 

"  Ah,  and  you  want  to  provide  homes  for  homeless 
girls  ?  " 


06  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  Here  is  my  card,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  feeling  it 
necessary  to  come  to  the  point  with  this  dull  man,  and 
handing  him  one  of  his  business  cards. 

"  Oh,"  said  Mr.  Lovering,  light  now  dawning  upon 
him,  "  so  you  find  situations  for  girls,  do  you  ?  I  have 
heard  of  such  persons,  but  I  never  saw  one  before," 
and  he  looked  curiously  at  his  visitor.  "  But  we  are 
not  in  need  of  any  servants." 

"  I  presume  not,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  "  I  presume  not, 
but  I  presume,  also,  that  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel 
in  this  town,  you  have  an  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
your  flock,  and  would  regard  it  as  an  unspeakable  evil 
to  have  any  of  the  young  girls  who  go  from  here  to  the 
city  fall  into  bad  hands  ?  My  mission  is  to  prevent 
that.  I  have  here,  sir,"  tapping  his  note-book,  "  cer 
tain  statistics  which  prove  conclusively  that  a  girl  taking 
a  situation,  say  as  second  girl,  will  in  five  years  lay  up  as 
much  money  as  one  who  has  been  working,  say  in  a 
cotton  factory,  for  seven  years,  and  will  be  a  far  more 
useful  member  of  society.  Sir,  why  should  we  go  to 
Prince  Edward's  Island  and  Nova  Scotia  for  our  domes 
tics  ?  I  know  those  places,  sir.  My  paid  agent,  Mr. 
Sope,  has  scoured  them  thoroughly.  Why  should  we 
wait  for  the  down-trodden  foreigner  to  come  to  our 
shores,  when  we  have  here  in  our  midst,  in  our  midst, 
reverend  sir,  those  who  might  be  members  of  our 
households.  The  complaint  is  that  young  men  leave 
the  country  for-  the  city.  Sir,  I  say  let  their  sisters 
leave  also,  and  the  social  problem  will  be  solved."  Mr. 
Manlius  paused.  Mr.  Lovering  looked  at  him  still 
with  his  absent  smile.  "  What  I  ask  of  you,  sir,"  con 
tinued  the  speaker,  "  is  to  put  me  in  the  way  of  seeing 
likely  young  women,  farmers'  daughters  and  others,  of 
your  parish.  I  shall  enter  their  names  on  my  book  as 
candidates :  then  when  I  am  asked  for  a  cook,  or  a 


FIVE^SISTERS   COURT.  97 

nursery-maid,  or  a  second  girl,  or  a  girl  to  do  general 
housework,  and  one  from  the  country  is  preferred,  I 
shall  be  ready  to  provide  at  once  suitable  persons,  and 
procure  comfortable  homes  for  the  same."  Mr.  Man 
lius  spoke  briskly  as  he  got  upon  the  business  details 
of  his  plan.  Mr.  Lovering  took  off  his  glasses,  and 
rubbed  his  eyes  a  little,  then  rubbed  his  additional  eyes 
sympathetically. 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  presently ;  "  you  want  me  to  put 
you  in  the  way  of  going  about  in  my  parish  for  this 
purpose.  We  cannot  be  too  careful  about  our  associa 
tions.  These  young  girls,  when  they  go  to  the  city, 
are,  as  you  say,  exposed  to  risks.  I  have  not  been  to 
the  city  myself  for  a  great  many  years.  I  find  that 
many  go,  with  apparently  no  good  reason.  Have  you 
a  family,  Mr.  Manlius  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  have  two  children,  girls." 

"  Ah,  girls  !  And  you  are  bringing  them  up  to  be 
house  servants?  " 

"  No,  sir  ;  I  expect  to  have  my  girls  honor  the  sta 
tion  in  which  they  were  born ! "  said  Mr.  Manlius, 
severely. 

"Ah,  yes.  Well,  I  have  no  daughters,  as  I  told  you;. 
If  I  had,  possibly  I  might  be  willing  to  have  them  go;. 
A  servant's  place  in  the  city  is,  no  doubt,  very  honor* 
able ;  but  I  greatly  fear  that  there  are  none  of  the 
young  girls  in  my  parish  whom  I  could  recommend  just 
now  to  go  to  the  city  as  servants.  Still  there  may  be 
some  who  wish  to  go,  but  not  just  now,  not  at  present." 
Mr.  Lovering  moved  uneasily  about  in  his  chair.  The 
visitor  gave  him  more  concern  than  an  ordinary  book 
agent,  since  an  indorsement  of  a  man  seemed  so  much 
more  serious  than  the  indorsement  of  a  book.  It 

would   be  a  relief  if  he  only  would  have  some  such 
7 


98  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

business.  Suddenly  he  recollected  that  Mr.  Manlius 
had  spoken  of  two  errands. 

"  You  spoke  of  two  errands,"  said  lie.  "  Perhaps  I 
can  be  of  some  assistance  to  you  in  the  other  matter?" 

"  Do  you  happen  to  know,"  asked  Mr.  Maulius,  in  a 
careless  manner,  "  of  one  Nicholas  Judge,  a  young 
man  formerly  a  resident  of  this  town,  and  of  his  father, 
one  Dr.  Simon  Judge,  since  deceased,  I  believe  ?  " 

"  I  knew  them  both,"  said  Mr.  Levering,  glad  to 
escape  from  his  more  unpleasant  subject.  "  That  is  to 
«ay,  I  knew  young  Judge  slightly,  and  I  cannot  say 
that  I  knew  his  father  intimately.  He  was  quite  a 
recluse  in  his  habits." 

"  Was  n't  there  some  story  or  other  against  the 
doctor?"  asked  Mr.  Manlius,  taking  out  his  note-book, 
and  holding  it  idly. 

"  There  was  an  unfortunate  circumstance  connected 
with  Dr.  Judge.  He  was  not,  as  you  probably  know, 
a  practicing  physician ;  but  lived  quite  by  himself,  ex 
perimenting  with  drugs  and  minerals.  No  one  knew 
precisely  what  he  expected  to  discover.  The  country 
people  had,  of  course,  strange  stories  about  his  occupa 
tion.  I  myself  gave  little  credence  to  them.  But  one 
day  a  neighbor's  daughter,  who  was  wont  to  play 
thereabout,  was  found  dead." 

"  Ah,  the  King  girl,  I  suppose,"  said  Mr.  Manlius, 
knowingly. 

"  Oh,  you  know  the  story,  then  ?  " 

"  Something,  something ;  but  I  should  be  glad  to 
hear  your  version." 

"  I  have  no  prejudice  in  the  matter,"  said  the  mild 
minister.  "  There  was  great  excitement  in  the  country 
about  here;  and  some  claimed  that  Dr.  Judge  had 
been  experimenting  upon  the  girl  with  some  poisonous 
substance.  His  own  story  was  that  the  girl,  in  his 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  99 

absence,  partook  of  some  jelly-like  matter  which  con 
tained  poisonous  ingredients,  and  died  almost  immedi 
ately  from  the  effects  of  it.  Indeed,  the  coroner's  jury 
so  found,  and  no  action  was  ever  brought  against  the 
doctor.  But  he  shut  himself  up  more  than  ever  after 
that,  and  refused  to  see  any  one  in  his  house,  though  he 
occasionally  came  to  mine  and  to  one  or  two  others. 
When  he  died,  his  body  was  carried  to  the  church,  he 
worshiped  at  the  Episcopal  church,  and  was  buried 
from  there.  His  son  I  saw  occasionally.  He  seemed 
to  be  an  excellent  young  man,  but  during  the  last  few 
years  of  his  father's,  life  was  a  constant  attendant  upon 
him,  and  seemed  to  have  little  to  do  with  the  other 
young  people  of  the  village.  He  left  the  place  sud 
denly,  a  few  weeks  since,  and  I  was  told  that  he  had 
gone  to  the  city." 

"Yes,  he  is  a  neighbor  of  mine,"  said  Mr.  Manlius, 
closing  his  note-book,  in  which  he  had  made  an  entry 
now  and  then.  "  I  have  a  somewhat  capricious  mem 
ory,  sir,  and  wished  to  jot  down  one  or  two  business 
matters  while  you  were  speaking ;  but  I  was  quite  at 
tentive,  sir,  and  very  much  interested."  He  rose  to 
take  leave,  and  lifting  his  black  bag,  gave  his  hand  to 
Mr.  Lovering. 

"  Allow  me  to  leave  a  few  of  my  cards  with  you, 
sir,"  he  said,  presenting  him  with  a  supply  likely  to 
last  some  time ;  "  if  you  find  that  any  young  woman  in 
your  parish  desires  to  go  to  the  city,  you  can  give  her 
one  of  these ;  write  your  name  on  it,  and  I  shall  take 
special  interest  in  her."  Mr.  Lovering  bowed  him  out 
of  the  house,  relieved  at  getting  rid  of  him,  but  much 
exercised  in  his  own  mind  over  the  errands  of  his  vis 
itor,  and  suddenly  remembering  that  lie  had  not  asked 
what  special  reason  Mr.  Manlius  had  for  inquiring 
about  the  Judges. 


100  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

Mr.  Manilas,  on  his  side,  felt  that  he  had  made  some 
progress.  It  was  difficult  to  say  which  part  of  hia 
business  was  uppermost  in  his  mind.  He  had  com 
bined  the  two,  in  a  prudential  spirit,  and  he  proposed  to 
continue  his  plan,  by  calling,  in  an  unaffected  way  at 
such  houses  as  seemed  most  likely  to  answer  his  pur 
pose.  He  found  no  difficulty  in  inducing  people  to  dis 
cuss  the  affairs  of  Dr.  Judge  and  his  son,  and  met  with 
a  varying  opinion  upon  the  character  of  the  father. 
He  was  subjected  in  turn  to  some  inquisitiveness  of  the 
people,  but  parried  the  questions  that  were  put  with 
more  or  less  success.  He  found,  however,  that  there 
was  a  somewhat  stubborn  prejudice  against  the  notion 
of  domestic  service  on  the  part  of  the  girls  whom  he 
met.  In  vain  he  showed  his  statistics  and  held  out 
luring  bait,  painting  the  picture  of  social  life  in  town 
in  high  colors.  He  met  with  no  more  encouragement 
than  could  be  predicted  from  the  willingness  of  the 
several  families  to  receive  and  post  conspicuously  his 
card.  Not  that  the  young  women  whom  he  encoun 
tered  were  unwilling  to  go  to  the  city.  Had  he  of 
fered  them  situations  of  drudgery  in  stores,  he  could 
have  gone  back  with  a  battalion,  but  not  even  the  pros 
pect  of  fun,  upon  which,  however,  Mr.  Manlius's  ideas 
were  rather  vague,  could  stir  them  from  their  prejudice 
against  the  notion  of  working  as  servants. 

At  three  o'clock  Mr.  Manlius  was  at  the  village 
hotel,  having  privately  partaken  on  the  way  thither  of 
a  lunch  discovered  in  his  traveling  bag,  and  found 
Silas  King  with  his  venerable  carriage  ready  to  take 
him  back  to  the  station.  Mr.  Manlius  placed  a  few  of 
his  cards  in  the  hands  of  the  hotel-keeper  for  judicious 
distribution,  and  took  the  precaution  to  borrow  a  tack- 
hammer  and  tacks,  and  nail  one  up  in  the  bar,  writing 
beneath  it :  "  All  persons  desiring  employment  in 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  101 

respectable  families  in  the  city  should  apply  to  Mr.  M." 
Silas  read  the  card  with  attention,  and  looked  at  Mr. 
Manlius,  who  had  so  far  shrunk  now  in  mental  propor 
tions  that  he  deemed  it  hardly  necessary  to  help  him 
up  the  folding  staircase  of  his  carriage,  but  let  him 
clamber  up  as  best  he  might,  calling  after  him,  "  Easy 
there,  sir  !  Don't  bear  all  your  weight  on  them  steps." 
Then,  Mr.  Manlius  being  well  within,  Silas  carelessly 
folded  the  staircase  and  took  his  place  to  drive. 

"•  You  're  very  punctual,  I  see,  Mr.  King,"  said  Mr. 
Manlius,  presently.  "  You  never  got  there  too  late,  I 
suppose.  I  should  be  very  sorry  to  miss  the  train 
myself."  Silas  was  whipping  his  horse  methodically. 

"  Yes,"  he  drawled.  "  Time  's  of  consequence  to  you 
and  me.  The  train  always  gets  in  after  my  carriage. 
Did  you  find  any  girls  ?  " 

"  I  saw  a  number  of  young  women,  but  they  were 
not  prepared  to  accept  my  proposition  at  once." 

"  Likely  not,"  said  Silas.  "Our  girls  know  a  thing 
or  two." 

"  About  your  sister  now,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  turning 
the  subject.  "  It 's  a  painful  subject,  I  am  aware,  but 
there  are  important  reasons  why  I  should  know  some 
thing  further  of  the  Judges,  father  and  son.  The  son, 
now,  should  you  say  he  took  after  his  father?  *' 

"  I  say,  are  you  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  ? "  asked 
Silas. 

"  I  am,"  said  Mr.  Manlius.  "  I  was  appointed  by 
the  late  Governor." 

"Then  I  won't  say  anything  about  the  old  Judge  and 
his  son  to  you,  not  a  word,"  he  added,  vehemently, 
whipping  his  horse  so  hard  as  to  make  even  him  wince. 

"  But  you  told  me  that  Dr.  Judge  poisoned  your 
sister,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  mildly. 

"  No,  I  did  n't,"  said  Silas.     "  There  wa'n't  any  wit- 


102  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

ness  when  I  said  that.  I  tell  ye,  you  don't  get  another 
word  out  of  me.  I  '11  talk  about  the  crops  or  anything 
else,  but  I  won't  talk  about  that,"  said  Silas,  excitedly. 
Mr.  Manlius  was  puzzled,  for  in  his  researches  he  had 
not  heard  of  the  examination  of  Silas  by  the  coroner, 
when,  mainly  on  his  representations,  Dr.  Judge  had 
rested  under  suspicion,  and  of  the  dire  confusion  and 
contradiction  into  which  he  had  been  thrown.  "  You 
may  hang  the  son  if  you  want  to,"  he  went  on,  "  but 
you  won't  hang  him  on  my  testimony ; "  and  thereafter 
he  maintained  an  obstinate  silence  until  they  reached 
the  station. 

"  If  you  ever  come  to  town,  come  and  see  me,"  said 
Mr.  Manlius,  handing  him  a  card. 

"  Much  obliged,"  said  Silas,  shortly,  looking  the 
other  way,  "  but  I  don't  never  go  to  town." 

Mr.  Manlius  went  first  to  his  office  on  reaching 
town  ;  he  was  so  seldom  absent  from  it  that  he  was 
disappointed  to  hear  that  nothing  serious  had  happened 
in  his  absence.  He  went  home  and  found  Mrs.  Man 
lius  awaiting  him  anxiously.  She  had  only  known  in 
a  general  way  where  he  had  been,  and  what  his  errand 
was.  He  had  so  veiled  it  all  in  mystery  as  almost 
to  deceive  himself,  and  now  he  did  nothing  to  lessen 
the  anxiety  which  his  wife  bore.  He  sat  in  the  even 
ing  with  paper,  and  pen,  and  note-book  before  him, 
sometimes  holding  his  heavy  head  on  his  hand  as  if  the 
weight  of  its  contents  was  too  much  for  his  spine.  So 
matters  continued  for  a  day  or  two.  Lizzy  and  Dizzy 
could  not  fail  to  notice  their  father's  preoccupation. 

"  Pop  's  got  a  secret,"  was  Dizzy's  way  of  putting  it. 
"  I  mean  to  find  out  what  it  is." 

"It's  something  very  important,  Dizzy,"  said  her 
sister,  with  an  air  of  being  her  father's  confidante. 
•'  You  must  n't  disturb  him." 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.        .  103 

"  Now,  Liz  Manlius,  you  need  n't  put  on  airs,"  said 
Dizzy.  "  You  know  no  more  about  it  than  Eunice 
does." 

"  Yes,  I  do.     It 's  something  about  Nicholas  Judge." 

"  Oh,  is  it !  Nicholas  is  divine.  How  near  he  came 
to  being  Eunice's  nephew.  What  if  he  'd  lived  right  in 
this  house,  Lizzy  !  "  . 

"  He  would  have  been  of  great  help  to  me  in  my 
studies,"  said  that  young  lady,  demurely. 

"You  goose.  Pop  doesn't  like  him  any  way.  I 
think  it 's  horrid.  He  bowed  to  me  this  morning  when 
I  met  him.  Yes,  I  don't  mind  telling  you,  Liz.  He 
took  his  hat  off." 

"  I  don't  believe  he  knows  you  from  me,  Diz  Man 
lius,  —  at  a  distance." 

"  Oho  !  Liz  is  jealous  !  Liz  is  jealous  !  "  and  her 
mercurial  sister  spun  round  several  times,  in  her  de 
light,  and  finally  staggered  into  Lizzy's  arms,  who  im 
patiently  pushed  her  away. 


104  THE  DWELLERS  IN 


CHAPTER    VII. 

• 

MEANWHILE  Mr.  Manlius  kept  his  own  counsel, 
though  his  general  temper  leaked  out  now  and  then. 
It  was  drawing  toward  the  close  of  the  month,  and 
there  was  every  appearance  of  a  gathering  of  ideas,  so 
to  speak,  in  Mr.  Manlius's  head,  which  fairly  buzzed 
with  excitement. 

"  Caroline,"  he  said,  at  length,  one  Monday.  "  To 
morrow  is  Washington's  birthday." 

"  Yes,"  said  she,  trembling. 

"  I  propose  to  celebrate  the  day,  and  to  ask  my 
neighbors  to  celebrate  it,  by  a  surprise  party." 

"  Oh,  Soprian  !  really  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  mean  a  mere  frivolous  surprise  ;  but  1 
propose  that  we  shall  all  go  and  pay  our  respects  to 
our  neighbor,  Mrs.  Blake." 

"  Shall  you  ask  Dr.  Chocker  ?  "  asked  his  wife,  who 
stood  much  in  awe  of  him. 

"  Certainly,  I  shall  ask  Dr.  Chocker  and  his  grand 
daughter." 

"  But  Nicholas  Judge  will  be  there,"  said  Mrs.  Man 
lius,  faintly,  and  uneasily. 

"  Unquestionably,  unquestionably,"  said  Mr.  Man 
lius,  with  a  stern  look.  "  That  is  reasonably  to  be  ex 
pected.  I  propose  to  go  this  evening,  and  invite  my 
neighbors."  If  it  had  been  a  funeral  to  which  he  in 
tended  asking  them,  he  could  hardly  have  spoken  with 
more  depressing  effect. 


1  OS  *P». 

FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  lOO 

"  I  suppose  Eunice  had  better  stay  at  home,"  said 
Mrs.  Manlius. 

"  Yes,  decidedly.  She  must  stay  at  home  with  the 
children,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  with  a  frown.  "  Don't  let 
her  know  about  it." 

"  Mrs.  Blake  has  been  very  kind  to  her,"  said  his 
wife.  "  Eunice  has  been  in  to  see  her  once  or  twice 
since  you  spoke  about  if." 

"  She  has,  eh  ?  "  said  Mr.  Manlius,  sharply.  "  Why 
did  n't  you  tell  me  ?  " 

"  You  were  so  engaged,  Soprian  ;  I  did  n't  like  to 
disturb  you.  I  '11  tell  her  not  to  go  so  often,  if  you 
think  best." 

"  Let  her  alone,  Caroline  ;  she  '11  only  go  the  more 
for  that." 

When  the  evening  came,  Mr.  Manlius,  as  he  had 
planned,  set  out  directly  after  tea. 

"  Pop  's  gone  out  on  his  secret,"  said  Dizzy,  confiden 
tially.  "  Eunice,  what  is  Pop's  secret?"  Mrs.  Mau- 
lius  was  out  of  the  room. 

"  Hush,  child.  I  don't  know.  He  's  a  very  busy 
man." 

"  It 's  something  about  your  nephew,  Liz  says,"  said 
Dizzy. 

"  He 's  a  good  young  man,"  said  Eunice,  with  a 
sigh. 

"  Don't  you  wish  he  had  stayed  your  nephew, 
Eunice  ?  "  asked  the  girl. 

"  It  don't  much  matter,"  said  she,  sighing  again. 
"  Something  else  would  have  happened."  In  poor 
Eunice  Starkey's  world,  the  somethings  that  happened 
were  never  very  bright  or  desirable  things  ;  or  if  they 
were,  they  seemed  to  fade  as  quickly  as  a  sunset. 
Mrs.  Manlius  returning  to  the  room  looked  the  full 
extent  of  her  own  account  of  herself  —  worried  to 


106  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

death.  She  snapped  at  Dizzy,  and  snapped  at  Eunice 
Starkey. 

"  It 's  all  along  of  that  pretended  nephew  of  yours," 
she  said  to  the  latter.  "  Why  could  n't  he  stay  away, 
and  not  come  here  bothering  us.  I  'm  sure  I  don't  know 
what  will  happen  to  Mr.  Manlius.  He 's  gone  out 
now,  and  we  've  got  to  go  out  to-morrow  night,  — 
Dizzy,  you  go  straight  to  bed." 

"  Where  are  you  going  to-morrow  night  ? "  asked 
the  inquisitive  girl. 

"  I  'm  going  to  get  some  layer-overs  for  meddlers," 
said  her  mother,  vexed  at  having  half  betrayed  herself ; 
and  when  Dizzy  was  gone,  she  eyed  the  thin  woman 
beside  her  sharply,  to  see  if  she  had  taken  any  special 
notice  of  what  had  been  said;  but  Eunice  made  no  sign 
of  surprise  or  curiosity. 

"  What  sort  of  a  woman  is  Mrs.  Blake  ? "  pursued 
Mrs.  Manlius. 

"  She  's  a  very  kind  lady,"  said  Eunice,  knitting 
assiduously. 

"  Does  she  ever  ask  you  questions  about  us  ?  " 

"  No.  She  does  n't  seem  to  be  an  inquisitive  sort 
of  person." 

"  I  'm  sure,"  sighed  Mrs.  Manlius.  "  I  most  wish 
I  was  tied  to  my  chamber,  and  could  n't  run  about. 
I  don't  know  but  I  should  grow  into  a  saint  that  way," 
and  she  stared  ruefully. 

"  Mrs.  Blake 's  seen  a  heap  of  trouble,"  said  her 
companion.  "  She  never  told  me  much,  but  I  can  see 
it." 

"  She  an't  afraid  of  her  nephew,  is  she  ?  "  asked 
Mrs.  Manlius,  looking  askance. 

"  Afraid  of  her  nephew  ?  why  no,  why  should  she 
be?" 

"  Does  n't  do  to  trust  to  appearances,"  said  Mrs.  Man- 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  107 

lius,  grimly,  catching  a  faint  echo  of  her  husband's  sen 
tentious  and  oracular  way.  "  I  won't  say  any  more,  but 
just  you  keep  an  eye  on  Nicholas  Judge." 

Mrs.  Starkey's  countenance  fell.  It  seemed  to  her 
as  if  another  of  the  few  props  that  held  her  up,  had 
been  roughly  shaken. 

"  Oh,  I  hope  not,"  she  said  sorrowfully.  "  I  think 
I  'd  better  look  at  the  furnace  fire,"  —  a  way  of  escape 
from  further  possible  disclosures,  which  was  not  without 
its  relief  to  Mrs.  Manlius,  who  began  to  fear  she  had 
gone  too  far,  and  that  she  might  be  questioned  uncom 
fortably  in  turn. 

"  You  '11  want  to  sift  some  of  those  asiies,  Eunice," 
she  said.  "  Mr.  Manlius  don't  like  to  find  too  few 
cinders  when  he  covers  up  the  fire." 

Mr.  Manlius,  at  this  time  was  calling  on  his  neigh 
bors,  serving  notice  of  the  surprise  party  to  come  off 
the  next  evening.  Being  of  a  frugal  mind  he  had  de 
cided  against  the  neighbors  carrying  anything  besides 
their  own  selves  with  them  with  which  to  entertain 
Mrs.  Blake.  He  had  made  his  first  call  at  Dr.  Checker's. 
Miss  Lovering  received  him,  and  at  his  request,  sent  for 
her  grandfather,  who  came  in  somewhat  testily,  having 
been  interrupted  when  on  a  troublesome  chase  after  a 
word,  which  he  remembered  having  once  met  somewhere 
in  Eustathius,  and  the  worthy  bishop  had  a  chance  to 
hide  a  good  many  words  in  his  magpie  collection  of 
comments. 

"  "Well,  neighbor,"  said  Dr.  Chocker,  giving  Mr.  Man 
lius  his  little  hand.  "  So  you  've  got  back  from  the 
funeral,  have  you  ?  " 

"  It  was  not  a  funeral,"  said  Mr.  Manlius  slowly,  in 
the  old  gentleman's  trumpet.  "  It  was  business.  I  was 
hunting  a  rogue." 

"  Need  n't  have  gone  out  of  town  for  that,"  said  Dr. 
Chocker.  "  I  'd  engage  to  find  one  in  this  court." 


108  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  You  may  well  say  that,"  said  Mr.  Manilas  with  a 
sort  of  freemasonry  in  his  eye.  "  But  I  've  come  on  a 
little  different  errand,  —  a  little  different.  I  want  you 
and  your  granddaughter  to  join  the  neighbors  in  a 
friendly  irruption,  if  I  may  say  so,  a  festive  descent  on 
our  infirm  neighbor,  Mrs.  Blake." 

"  Don't  understand,"  said  he,  sharply.  "  Here,  you 
tell  my  granddaughter  what  you  want;  she  '11  translate 
it  to  me.  Excuse  me.  I  'm  very  busy.  I  'm  hunting  a 
rogue,  too  ;  a  rogue  a  bishop  has  concealed,"  he  added 
as  he  turned  on  his  heel. 

"  Grandfather  's  very  busy  to-night,"  explained  Miss 
Levering.  "  Pray,  what  is  your  plan,  Mr.  Manlius  ? 
a  surprise  party  ?  " 

"  In  a  measure,  in  a  measure.  We  don't  propose  to 
carry  anything,  Miss  Lovering.  I  think  that  will 
hardly  be  necessary.  But  to-morrow  is  Washington's 
birthday,  and  I  thought  we  might  properly  pay  our  re 
spects  to  a  person  situated  as  Mrs.  Blake  is.  She  can 
hardly  enter  much  into  ordinary  festivities." 

"  Oh,  we  shall  be  delighted  to  go,"  said  Miss  Lover- 
ing.  "I  admire  Mrs.  Blake  extremely,  and  I  think  it 
will  be  very  pleasant  for  her  to  see  her  neighbors 
thus." 

"  At  eight,  then,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  rising,  and  then, 
turning  to  Miss  Lovering,  he  said  impressively,  "  I  went 
to  Kingston,  the  other  day." 

"  Did  you,  indeed  ? "  said  she,  and  catching  some 
thing  in  his  face,  she  began  to  wonder  what  she  had  to 
do  with  that. 

"  I  did  not  see  your  relations,"  he  said,  but  I  saw  a 
distant  connection  of  yours,  I  believe,  the  Reverend 
Mr.  Lovering."  Miss  Lovering  looked  puzzled,  es 
pecially  as  she  saw  that  Mr.  Manlius  was  eying  her  in 
tently.  She  began  to  think  she  was  unwittingly  mixed 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  109 

up  in  some  mysterious  manner  with  Mr.  Manlius  and 
his  fortunes.  He  seemed  to  have  no  further  disclosures 
to  make,  however,  and  went  out,  leaving  her  to  laugh 
over  the  solemn  manner  he  had  borne,  and  her  own  un 
disguised  and,  as  she  thought  it,  rather  open-mouthed 
surprise. 

Mr.  Manlius's  next  call  was  upon  Mr.  Paul  Le  Clear, 
whom  he  had  occasionally  seen  since  Christmas,  but 
only  for  an  exchange  of  bows.  He  found  the  young 
gentleman,  arrayed  in  a  long  wrapper,  and  topped  with 
a  tasseled  cap  which  gave  him  the  look  of  belonging 
to  some  order  or  brotherhood,  not  the  Barefooted  Friars 
certainly,  but  perhaps  the  Slippered  Toasters,  as  he  had 
an  ingenious  instrument  by  him,  which  he  had  con 
structed,  upon  which  he  was  toasting  some  Chater's 
muffins.  A  number  of  Tail's  magazine  was  in  his 
hand,  and  he  was  browsing  pleasantly  in  literary  past 
ures. 

"  Mr.  Manlius,  sir,"  said  that  gentleman,  introducing 
himself,  as  Mr.  Le  Clear  seemed  for  a  moment  a  little 
surprised  at  his  entrance. 

"  Oh,  to  be  sure.  Sit  down,  Mr.  Manlius.  I  have 
not  had  this  pleasure  since  Christmas.  That  was  quite 
a  little  anecdote  of  the  times,  eh  ?  How  is  that  young 
nephew  in  general  to  Five-Sisters  Court  ? "  and  he 
moved  his  muffin  a  little  farther  back. 

"  I  believe  he  is  well.  He  is  well  to-day,"  said  Mr. 
Manlius  with  a  somewhat  mysterious  emphasis.  "  I 
have  come  to  ask  you  to  join  us,  Mr.  Le  Clear,  in  a 
slight  —  adventure  I  think  I  may  call  it.  We  propose 
to  celebrate  to-morrow  evening  by  an  impromptu  call 
upon  our  neighbor,  Mrs.  Blake." 

"  Ah  ?  " 

"  We  should  be  happy  to  have  you  join  us  in  our  — 
our  mutual  arrangement.  It  will  be  quite  informal. 
We  do  not  propose  to  carry  anything." 


110  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  Curry  anything  ?  " 

"  Anything  to  eat,  I  mean.  We  shall  carry  our 
selves,  and  the  compliments  of  the  day,"  said  Mr.  Man- 
lius,  with  ponderous  facetiousness. 

"  The  day  ?  " 

"  Washington's  birthday,  you  know." 

"  Ah !  You  propose  that  we  shall  go  and  make  :i 
general  descent  upon  the  infirm  lady  in  Number 
Four?" 

"  That  was  my  idea  —  a  surprise  party,  I  think  it  is 
sometimes  called." 

"  Very  entertaining,  no  doubt,"  said  Mr.  Le  Clear, 
languidly,  "  but  while  Washington  was  no  doubt  a  model 
man,  and  Mrs.  Blake  an  estimable  gentlewoman,  I 
hardly  think  I  feel  equal  to  surprising  either  of  them. 
In  fact  surprises  bore  'me." 

"  Then  you  have  no  desire  to  be  surprised  yourself  ?" 
asked  Mr.  Manlius  with  a  frown. 

"  Not  by  a  party."  Mr.  Manlius  was  perplexed,  and 
sat  frowning  moodily. 

"  I  have  no  objection  to  saying,"  he  at  length  said, 
"  that  I  have  a  further  object  iu  mind.  I  desire  to 
bring  together  the  same  persons  who  were  privy  to  a 
certain  scene  last  Christmas,  with  a  view  to  making 
certain  public  statements  with  regard  to  a  certain  per 
son  who  was  then  and  there  present." 

"  Are  you  certain  about  it  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Le  Clear. 

"  Yes,  sir ;  yes,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Manlius  ;  "  and  I  have 
reason  to  believe  that  I  shall  be  supported  by  the 
learned  Dr.  Checker  and  by  his  granddaughter,  Miss 
Lovering,  who,  you  may  be  aware,  has  lately  come  to 
reside  with  her  grandfather." 

"  Oh,  her  name 's  Miss  Lovering,  is  it  ?  and  she  's  old 
Checker's  granddaughter  ?  Hm.  What  time  do  you 
want  us  at  the  funeral  services  of  our  young  friend, 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  HI 

Mr.  Manilas  ?  "  Mr.  Manlius  leered  at  the  words  and 
tone. 

"  At  eight  o'clock,  Mr.  Le  Clear." 

"  Well,  I  may  drop  in,  but  don't  wait  for  me. 
You  've  had  your  tea,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"Yes,  I  see  I  am  detaining  you.  Good  evening, 
sir,"  and  Mr.  Manlius  left,  but  put  his  head  in  at  the 
door  again,  to  say,  "  Mr.  Le  Clear,  I  have  reasons  for 
wishing  to  reserve  my  —  my  ulterior  object.  You  will 
regard  my  communication  as  strictly  confidential  ?  " 

"Oh,  entirely  so,"  said  Mr.  Le  Clear.  "I'll  forget 
it  altogether,  if  you  desire  it."  Mr.  Manlius  had  but 
one  other  call  to  make,  and  that  was  on  Miss  Pix.  He 
found  her  having  a  social  evening  with  Mr.  Winclgraff 
and  Mr.  Pfeiffer,  who  had  left  their  instruments  at 
home,  contrary  to  Mr.  Manlius's  general  notions  with 
regard  to  foreigners,  and  were  chatting  with  Miss  Pix 
without  the  least  awkwardness,  the  mere  fact  of  their 
not  having  violins  with  them  not  seeming  to  impede 
their  action.  Mr.  Manlius,  like  some  smaller  men,  found 
it  difficult  to  conceive  of  these  professional  musicians 
without  embracing  their  instruments  also,  so  much  like 
additional  members  do  they  seem  to  the  unversed. 

"  Mr.  Manlius,  you  have  not  forgotten  Mr.  Wind- 
graff,  I  presume,"  said  their  hostess,  "  nor  Mr.  Pfeiffer," 
as  the  visitor  came  into  the  little  parlor  and  was  greeted 
by  her.  "  What  an  odd  evening  that  was  at  Christmas. 
We  often  speak  of  it." 

"  It  was  a  surprise  symphony,"  said  Mr.  Windgraff, 
enunciating  the  words  slowly. 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  Mr.  Pfeiffer,  who  had  fewer  English 
words  at  his  immediate  command,  and  indeed  kept 
most  of  his  linguistic  capital  in  the  bank,  so  to  speak, 
of  a  pocket  dictionary,  drawing  from  it  only  as  he  had 
need,  —  a  convenient  kind  of  bank  which  he  carried 


112  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

in  a  private  pocket  made  for  it  in  each  of  his  coats 
by  the  industrious  Mrs.  Pfeiffer. 

"  So  it  was,"  said  Miss  Fix,  with  animation,  while 
Mr.  Pfeiffer  took  out  his  little  dictionary  and  looked  up 
the  word  surprise. 

"  Symphonic  mil  Paulcenschlag"  explained  Mr.  Wind- 
graff,  in  an  aside  to  his  friend. 

"  Ah !  "  he  exclaimed,  and  his  face  broadened  into 
a  smile  of  interest,  which  increased  as  he  fourid  surprise, 
and  nodded  intelligently. 

"  It  was  very  unexpected,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  looking 
at  the  ceiling,  "so  are  other  things, other  things;"  and  he 
looked  at  Miss  Pix,  who  returned  his  gaze  with  a  cer 
tain  severity  which  quite  became  her,  though  it  was 
only  a  general  expression  of  her  disposition  toward  Mr. 
Manlius. 

"  I  called,"  he  went  on  to  say,  "  to  propose  a  com 
panion  piece,  if  I  may  say  so,  for  to-morrow  evening. 
Washington's  birthday,  you  are  aware,  Miss  Pix." 

"  Washington's  birthday  !  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Pfeiffer, 
who  knew  both  words  without  looking  them  out.  "Yes  ! 
to-morrow  !  "  for  his  children  were  to  have  a  holiday, 
and  he  had  been  laboriously  reading  about  Washington 
in  one  of  their  school-books. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  turning  to  him.  "  You 
are  right.  We  celebrate  in  our  country  the  annual 
return  of  the  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  the  Father  of 
his  Country.  We  have  no  saint's  days  or  idle  festivi 
ties  generally  in  our  country.  Fourth  of  July  and 
Washington's  birthday  are  our  principal  days;  they 
remind  us  of  our  country's  greatness ; "  and  Mr.  Man 
lius  leaned  back  and  half  closed  his  eyes,  as  if  the  light 
of  his  country's  fame  was  almost  too  much  for  him. 
Mr.  Pfeiffer  listened  eagerly,  and  began  consulting  his 
dictionary,  anxious  to  add  to  his  stock  of  knowledge  ; 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  113 

but  when  Mr.  Windgraff  quietly  interpreted  the  sen 
tence,  he  looked  a  trifle  disappointed,  —  he  knew  all 
that  before. 

"  What  do  you  propose  for  to-morrow  evening  ?  " 
asked  Miss  Fix,  a  little  impatiently. 

"  I  propose  a  surprise  party  from  the  court,  to  meet 
at  Mrs.  Blake's."  Miss  Fix  opened  her  eyes  in  aston 
ishment. 

"  You  good  man  !  "  said  she,  impulsively  getting  up 
and  shaking  Mr.  Manlius's  hand,  somewhat  to  that  gen 
tleman's  surprise,  and  giving  herself  a  little  internal 
admonitory  shaking,  as  it  were,  for  want  of  charity 
toward  her  neighbor.  "  That  is  a  charming  idea.  What 
shall  we  carry  ?  " 

"  A  piece  of  Washington  pie,"  suggested  Mr.  Wind 
graff,  who  had  that  day  made  the  acquaintance  of  this 
patriotic  pastry. 

"  Mr.  Windgraff,  you  are  a  genius,"  said  Miss  Fix, 
in  delight.  "  But  really,  Mr.  Manlius,  what  do  you 
propose  ?  " 

"  I  have  talked  the  matter  over  with  Mrs.  Manlius, 
and  Miss  Lovering,  and  Mr.  Paul  Le  Clear,"  said  he, 
generously  sharing  his  private  sentiments  with  them, 
"  and  it  is  unanimously  agreed  that  we  should  not 
undertake  to  make  any  donation  to  Mrs.  Blake." 

"Not  take  anything  ?  "  said  Miss  Fix.  "  Why,  that 
seems  rather  unneighborly.  Of  course  she  does  n't 
need  anything,  and  I  didn't  mean  donations;  but  she 
may  not  have  on  hand  anything  for  us.  And  then 
anything  goes  off  so  much  better  if  you  have  eating 
and  drinking,  does  n't  it,  Mr.  Ffeiffer  ?  " 

"  What  ?  "  he  asked,  and  as  she  explained  in  Ger 
man  he  replied  with  great  emphasis,  and  recommended 
potato  salad. 

"  But  we  ought  to  agree  about  it,  Mr.  Manlius,"  said 


114:  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

Miss  Fix,  "  and  if  the  rest  of  you  think  it  best  not 
to,  I  '11  give  in,"  and  then,  somewhat  embarrassed 
and  making  various  private  unintelligible  signs  to  Mr. 
Manlius,  she  finally  asked  in  a  confidential  whisper, 
hoping  Mr.  Manlius  understood  Latin,  and  wishing  to 
put  it  succinctly,  "  Mei  quatuor  amici  musici  ? "  Mr. 
Manlius  stared.  "Duo  hie,  duo  illic,"  she  explained, 
desperately.  Mr.  Manlius  pulled  his  waistcoat  down 
and  sat  up  straighter.  He  knew  duo,  but  that  threw 
no  light  on  the  rest.  "  That  sounds  like  my  daughter 
Elizabeth,"  said  he.  "  She  says  things  like  that.  She  's 
studying  Latin." 

u  Oh,  is  she  ?  "  said  Miss  Fix ;  "  do  let  me  show  you  a 
Latin  book  I  have  over  here,"  and  she  marched  him 
across  the  room  and  then  whispered  eagerly,  "  May  n't 
I  ask  these  two  gentlemen  and  the  other  two  ?  You 
know  they  were  all  here  that  evening  ?  "  Mr.  Manlius 
reflected.  It  certainly  would  help  to  make  the  gather 
ing  more  impressive,  but  he  began  to  feel  a  sudden  faint 
misgiving,  as  it  flashed  across  his  mind  that  he  might 
have  to  give  a  clear  and  lucid  explanation  to  these 
German  musicians,  and  that  they  would  hardly  meet 
him  half  way,  as  the  others  would. 

"  Well,  I  suppose  we  might,"  he  said,  after  a  pause, 
"  but  the  room  is  pretty  small." 

"  Oh,  we  can  scatter  about,  and  we  can  come  in  here 
afterward  and  have  some  music,"  said  Miss  Fix,  with  a 
sudden  thought,  and  gaining  her  point  she  went  back 
to  her  friends,  oblivious  of  her  Latin  book.  Mr. 
Pfeiffer  was  very  sorry,  he  had  a  musical  engagement 
that  night,  but  Mr.  Windgraff  would  most  cheerfully 
come  and  bring  his  violin  and  notify  his  friends,  Mr. 
Schmauker  and  Mr.  Pfeffendorf.  When  Mr.  Manlius 
thus  returned  to  his  own  house  the  seriousness  of  his 
undertaking  began  to  grow  upon  him.  His  children 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  115 

were  in  bed.  Mrs.  Starkey  also  had  withdrawn,  and 
Mrs.  Manlius  alone  sat  waiting  anxiously  for  hinl. 

"  They  are  all  coming,  Caroline,"  said  he.  "  We 
shall  have  a  full  party,  and  it  will  be  an  important  day 
in  our  lives." 

"  Will  there  be  a  policeman  there  ? "  asked  Mrs. 
Manlius,  timidly. 

"  A  policeman  ?  why  should  there  be  a  policeman  ?  " 

"  I  thought  perhaps  you  meant  to  take  him  up." 

"  That  will  not  be  necessary,"  said  Mr.  Manlius. 
"  The  sense  of  discovery  makes  the  guilty  man  weak," 
and  he  gazed  before  him  as  if  he  saw  the  wicked  fall 
ing  on  every  side.  Nevertheless,  the  words  of  his  wife 
had  brought  sharply  before  him  the  somewhat  vague 
character  of  his  charges.  It  is  so  hard  to  prove  things 
sometimes  to  persons  unwilling  to  be  convinced,  and  he 
could  not  help  doubting  whether  the  sense  of  the  court 
would  be  immediately  and  heartily  with  him.  He 
passed  the  next  day  somewhat  nervously,  reviewing  his 
notes,  and  made  visits  to  the  upper  part  of  his  house  in 
hopes  of  hearing  new  and  confirmatory  sounds.  He 
walked  out  behind  the  houses  also,  and  in  general  com 
ported  himself  with  so  much  mystery  as  to  excite  un 
bounded  curiosity  in  the  mind  of  his  daughter  Desire. 

"  Liz,"  said  she,  "  I  should  n't  wonder  one  bit  if  we 
were  going  to  have  a  party.  I  heard  Pop  say  some 
thing  to  mother  this  morning  that  looked  like  it." 

"  What  was  it,  Dizzy  ?  " 

"  I  won't  tell  unless  you  tell  me  what  Nicholas  said 
to  you  when  he  met  you  in  the  court  yesterday.  I 
saw  you,  you  sly  girl !  Oh,  you  pretend  you  only  care 
for  your  Latin  grammar." 

"  I  shan't  tell,"  said  Lizzy,  turning  red. 

"  Then  I  shan't  tell  what  Pop  said."  There  was  si 
lence  for  a  moment,  each  considering  how  she  could 


116  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

obtain  the  other's  secret  without  parting  with  her  own, 
each  being  aware  in  fact  that  her  own  was  quite  value 
less  unless  it  were  kept  a  secret.  At  this  moment  their 
mother  entered  the  room. 

"  Girls,"  said  she,  "  your  father  and  I  will  have  to 
go  out  this  evening,  but  I  don't  want  you  to  tell 
Eunice." 

"  Oh,  where  are  you  going  ?  "  they  both  exclaimed  at 
once." 

"  No  matter,"  said  she.  "  It 's  some  very  important 
business  of  your  father's." 

"  I  heard,"  said  Dizzy,  making  a  daring  venture. 
"  It 's  to  a  party." 

"  Desire,  don't  you  dare  to  whisper  a  word  of  it  to 
Eunice,"  said  her  mother,  impressively.  "  Your  father 
will  be  very  angry  with  you  if  you  do." 

"  I  mean  to  plague  Eunice  and  make  her  guess," 
said  Dizzy. 

"  Don't  you  do  any  such  thing,"  said  her  mother. 
"She '11  guess,  and  then  you'll  be  sorry."  Mrs.  Manlius 
had  felt  it  necessary  to  tell  the  children,  both  to  relieve 
her  own  mind,  and  because  she  saw  they  were  very 
curious,  and  she  thought  that  a  little  knowledge  would 
quiet  them ;  but  she  had  only  added  fuel  to  the  flame. 

"  I  suppose  you  won't  be  back  till  after  midnight," 
began  Lizzy,  dolefully. 

"  Oh,  it  an't  a  great  way,"  said  Mrs.  Manlius,  trying 
hard  to  tell  nothing. 

<;  It 's  at  Miss  Fix's,"  said  Desire.     "  I  know." 

"  No,  it  is  n't ;  not  exactly,"  added  her  mother, 
faintly. 

"  It 's  in  the  court,  any  way,"  pursued  the  tormentor. 

"  I  don't  see  why  we  can't  go,"  said  Lizzy  plain 
tively. 

"  Now    Lizzy  and    Dizzy,   don't   you    say    another 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  117 

word,  nor  ask  another  question,  and  I  '11  tell  you.  Your 
father  has  been  getting  up  a  surprise  party,  and  all  the 
families  in  the  court  are  going  to  spend  the  evening 
with  Mrs.  Blake." 

"  I  knew  it,"  said  Dizzy,  triumphantly.  "  I  knew  it 
just  as  well  as  not,  and  I  'm  just  dying  to  go  too.  I 
shall  be  thirteen  next  year  and  it's  a  burning  shame 
we  can't  go.  I  mean  to  go." 

"  Dizzy  !  "  said  her  mother  in  alarm.  "  You  will 
do  no  such  thing,  and  I  am  ashamed  of  you  for  talking 
in  that  way."  Mrs.  Manlius  retreated  after  this,  anx 
ious  to  get  out  of  the  way  of  her  children,  lest  they 
should  by  some  hocus  pocus  accomplish  what  they 
threatened,  and  even  get  her  consent  to  it. 

When  supper  was  over,  and  the  two  girls  sat  demurely 
in  the  dining-room,  reading,  while  Mrs.  Starkey  was 
engaged  iti  putting  away  the  tea  things,  Mr.  Maulius 
took  the  opportunity  to  say,  — 

"  Girls,  your  mother  and  I  are  going  out  this  even 
ing,  to  be  gone  some  time.  You  must  go  to  bed  now. 
Eunice,  you  need  n't  sit  up  for  us  ;  we  shan't  probably 
be  back  till  quite  late." 

"  Are  you  going  a  good  distance,  Pop  ?  "  asked  De 
sire. 

"  Yes,  it  will  be  some  time  before  we  return,"  he  re 
plied. 

"  As  far  as  the  end  of  the  court  ? "  pursued  his 
daughter. 

"  Dizzy,  hold  your  tongue,"  said  her  father.  "  Did  n't 
you  hear  me  say  we  should  be  gone  all  the  evening  ? 
You  are  very  disrespectful." 

"  I  did  n't  know  but  you  wanted  to  surprise  us,"  she 
replied,  meekly. 

"  You  can  both  go  up-stairs,  now,"  said  her  father. 
"  Elizabeth,  I  am  glad  to  see  you  reading  so  diligently, 


118  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

but  you  need  ii't  read  any  more  to-night.  You  will 
want  sound  sleep  for  your  head." 

"  I  suppose  we  had  better  go  to  bed,  Diz,"  said  the 
studious  girl,  when  they  had  reached  their  room. 
"  Mother  or  Eunice  will  be  coming  up  to  see  if  we  are 
safe." 

"  Yes,  but  don't  you  go  to  sleep.  It  would  be  awful 
to  go  to  sleep  and  never  wake  up  till  morning." 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  119 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

A  HALF  hour  later,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Manlius  were 
dressed  and  ready  for  their  part  in  the  surprise.  Mrs. 
Starkey  sat  down  at  her  work,  much  wondering  on 
what  excursion  the  two  had  gone,  for  they  were  not 
much  given  to  social  journeys.  She  sat  knitting  by  a 
dim  light,  ^economically  turned  down  to  its  lowest 
burning  point,  and  mechanically  going  over  in  her 
mind  the  routine  of  her  to-morrow's  work.  Something 
in  the  quiet  of  the  house,  and  the  darkness  of  the  room, 
led  her  mind  along  in  a  sluggish  current  of  loneliness. 
She  did  not  often  lift  her  eyes,  poor  thing,  out  of  the 
covered  way  in  which  she  daily  jogged  ;  she  had  been 
benumbed  by  years  of  drudgery  and  by  the  despairing 
consciousness  that  when  there  was  a  sudden  rattle  of 
the  wheels  of  her  nature,  she  was  animated  without 
the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  she  was  animated,  and 
enjoying  it.  She  dreaded  these  returns  of  loquacity, 
which  seized  her  now  and  then  and  bore  her  along 
upon  a  stream  of  Imp-hazard  talk  which  was  a  kind  of 
nightmare  to  her  in  recollection.  When  she  recalled  it 
in  the  dull  period  that  succeeded,  it  was  possible  only  to 
catch  certain  solitary  expressions  or  emotions  —  all  the 
rest  was  a  jumble.  The  knowledge  that  she  was  thus 
irrational  humbled  and  depressed  her.  For  the  first 
time  in  years  she  had  found  some  one  who  seemed  to 
understand  all  this,  without  thereby  misjudging  her, 
and  without  constantly  reminding  her  even  tacitly  of 


120  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

the  miserable  infirmity  under  which  she  labored.  She 
clung,  therefore,  to  Mrs.  Blake  as  to  one  who  might 
possibly  help  her,  might  even,  it  sometimes  seemed,  ex 
tricate  her  from  her  confused  misery.  Already  she 
had  gone  so  far  as  to  tell  a  little  of  her  history  to  her 
neighbor,  and  she  longed  to  confide  in  her  wholly ;  it 
seemed  as  if  by  so  doing  she  would  take  a  step  out  of 
herself  and  into  a  freer,  more  natural  air,  where  she 
could  recover  her  true  relations  to  herself  and  to  oth 
ers.  The  desire  grew  upon  her,  as  she  sat  in  the  dis 
mal  room,  and  at  last,  yielding  to  it,  she  laid  aside  her 
work  and  getting  her  shawl  and  hood,  set  out  for  her 
neighbor's,  meaning  to  make  a  little  visit,  from  which 
she  could  return  long  before  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Manlius 
would  be  back.  She  closed  the  door,  locking  it,  and 
carrying  the  key,  and  stood  soon  before  Number  Four. 
It  was  opened  almost  immediately  as  she  rang,  and 
Mrs.  Starkey  perceived  at  once  that  something  unusual 
was  going  on.  She  would  have  retreated  incontinently, 
but  at  the  same  moment  Miss  Pix  had  discovered  her, 
and  darted  out. 

"  Bless  my  heart,  Mrs.  Starkey,"  said  she,  seizing 
her,  "I  thought  you  were  Mr.  Windgraff.  You  see  I 
thought  it  might  be  a  little  awkward  for  him,  and  so 
I  'd  be  on  hand  when  he  came."  All  this  while  she 
was  removing  Mrs.  Starkey's  hood  and  shawl,  while 
the  poor  woman  hearing  voices,  was  making  dumb 
show  of  protesting,  as  Miss  Pix  rattled  on. 

"  I  call  this  a  genuine  surprise,  Mrs.  Starkey,"  said 
she.  "  Mrs.  Blake  was  just  asking  about  you,  and 
saying  she  wished  you  were  here,  and  I  'm  so  glad  you 
decided  to  come  after  all.  Your  second  thoughts  are 
such  sensible  ones.  Now  my  second  ones  are  good  for 
nothing  ;  I  have  to  trust  to  the  first  ones  that  come. 
So  walk  right  up-stairs  with  me ;  you  leave  your  first 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  121 

thoughts  down  here  and  I  '11  take  mine  with  me,"  and 
by  sheer  force  of  her  good-natured  will,  little  Miss  Fix 
pulled  Mrs.  Starkey  up  to  the  room  where  Mrs.  Blake 
sat,  receiving  her  friends.  Mrs.  Starkey's  heart  sank 
within  her  as  she  saw  Mr.  Manlius  with  his  hand  in  his 
waistcoat  talking  to  Dr.  Chocker.  Her  entrance  made 
a  little  commotion,  and  it  seemed  to  her  that  every  one 
turned  to  stare  at  her  as  hard  as  did  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Manlius,  but  Mrs.  Blake  received  her  so  affectionately, 
and  gave  her  at  once  a  seat  so  near  her,  that  she  felt 
in  a  measure  at  ease,  though  everything  was  whirling 
about.  Mrs.  Blake  held  her  hand  for  a  few  minutes 
as  she  talked  with  her,  and  Miss  Fix  darted  off  again 
to  lie  in  wait  for  Mr.  Windgraff,  since  she  had  heard 
the  bell  ring  again,  and  he  was  the  only  one  wanting  to 
complete  the  company,  Mr.  Schmauker  and  Mr.  Ffef- 
fendorf  having  sent  their  regrets  and  a  promise  to  come 
later  to  Miss  Fix's,  when  their  evening  work  should  be 
done.  Mr.  Windgraff  presently  appeared  and  made  a 
profound  bow  to  Mrs.  Blake. 

"  The  cake  was  very  good,"  said  he  ;  "I  have  a 
piece  of  it  yet.  I  have  put  it  away  in  a  box  to  keep 
as  a  souvenir." 

"  It  is  a  souvenir  of  Miss  Fix,  too,  you  know,"  said 
Mrs.  Blake,  laughing;  "for  she  made  it." 

"  That  I  also  know,"  said  Mr.  Windgraff,  blushing  a 
little. 

"  Come,  Mr.  Windgraff,"  whispered  Miss  Fix.  "  I 
want  to  introduce  you  to  a  new-comer  in  the  court. 
She  's  a  granddaughter  of  old  Dr.  Chocker,"  and  march 
ing  Mr.  Windgraff  across  the  room,  she  presented  him 
with  a  fine  flourish  to  Miss  Sally  Lovering,  who  was 
talking  with  her  neighbor,  Mr.  Paul  Le  Clear. 

"  Do  you  live  in  the  court  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  No,  I  am  not  one  of  the  Five  Sisters,"  said  Mr. 


122  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

Windgraff ;  *'  but  I  am  a  neighbor.  I  live  round  the 
corner,  and  I  was  at  the  other  party.  You  are  a 
sister  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  am  a  sister,"  laughed  Sally  ;  "  or  a  sister's 
granddaughter.  Grandfather  has  told  me  about  the 
Christmas  party.  I  should  like  to  have  been  there. 
What  instrument  did  you  play,  Mr.  Windgraff?" 

"  J  play  the  violin.  It  is  my  professional  instru 
ment." 

"  Mr.  Le  Clear  played  the  drum,  he  tells  me." 

u  You  played  it  well,"  said  Mr.  Windgraff.  "  Are 
you  a  drummer  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  that  young  gentlemen,  amused ;  "  I  have 
sometimes  tried  to  write  on  parchment ;  but  I  have 
never  pounded  it  except  for  sport." 

"  I  think  I  should  like  to  drum,  at  times,"  said 
Sally.  "  It  seems  such  an  energetic  performance  ;  and 
then  your  drum  seems  to  be  such  a  solid  part  of  the 
music.  I  watched  the  drummer  yesterday,  who  played 
in  the  '  Meerstille,'  and  he  looked  so  well  satisfied 
when  he  was  left,  near  the  close,  to  play  his  drum  all 
by  himself,  —  he  was  the  sole  performer,  and  the  piece 
could  not  go  on  till  he  was  through." 

"  You  were  at  the  concert  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Wiudgraff, 
looking  pleased.  "  And  you  liked  it  ?" 

"  Oh,  it  was  splendid.  I  went  right  off  and  bought 
the  '  Meerstille  '  for  my  piano,  but  it  sounded  dread 
fully  thin  and  unsatisfactory,  after  hearing  the  orches 
tra." 

"  Yes,"  said  Le  Clear,  "  it  has  a  certain  change  of 
scene  about  it,  that  cannot  be  expressed  properly  by  a 
piano,  which,  after  all,  has  no  great  emotional  range. 
But  what  is  Mr.  Manlius  about  ?  "  Miss  Levering  and 
Mr.  Windgraff  turned,  and  saw  Mr.  Manlius  standing, 
note-book  in  hand,  by  a  table,  upon  which  he  rapped 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  123 

with  his  knuckles.  Mrs.  Manlius  was  near  him,  fan 
ning  herself  in  an  agitated  way,  and  looking  exceed 
ingly  uncomfortable. 

"  He  must  be  about  to  read  an  address  to  Mrs. 
Blake,"  whispered  Miss  Lovering. 

"  It  is  Washington's  Farewell  Address,"  said  Mr. 
Windgraff.  "  This  is  Washington's  birthday."  But  it 
was  neither,  for  Mr.  Manlius,  after  getting  the  atten 
tion  of  the  company,  turned  to  Mrs.  Blake,  and  said,  — 

"  Mrs.  Blake,  our  esteemed  hostess,  I  am  engaged  in 
a  somewhat  delicate  task,  as  I  may  say,  and  I  have 
asked  these  friends  and  neighbors  of  ours  to  be  present 
for  the  sake  of  corroborating  and  confirming  my  state 
ments  and  my  inferences.  I  hold  here,  madam,  in  my 
hand,  a  little  note-book,  which  you  may  perhaps  recol 
lect  seeing  before.  You  may  remember  it,  Mr.  Judge. 
There  are  others  who,  if  present,  would  swear  that  they 
had  seen  this  little  book  before.  Now  I  have  a  good 
memory,  and  I  am  in  the  habit  of  exercising  my  mind 
a  good  deal,  turning  matters  that  interest  me  over  and 
over  and  cogitating  upon  them,  but  in  matters  of  great 
importance  I  always  use  my  note-book.  I  like  to  have 
what  you,  Dr.  Checker,  I  believe,  call  a  man's  ipse 
dtxit,  the  very  words  that  he  utters,"  —  he  translated 
to  the  company  at  large,  while  Dr.  Checker,  who  stood 
solemnly  with  his  ear-trumpet,  turned  to  his  nearest 
neighbor,  who  happened  to  be  Mrs.  Starkey,  and  re 
lieved  himself  by  saying  in  a  vigorous  whisper,  "  Oh 
that  he  had  been  writ  down  asinus ;"  "  now  in  this  note 
book,"  he  went  on,  shaking  the  little  book  significantly, 
"  I  have  taken  down  various  words  said  to  me  here, 
yes,  here  in  this  house,  and  in  Kingston,"  —  and  at  this 
he  looked  searchingly  at  Nicholas,  whose  face  clouded 
with  anger,  and  at  Miss  Lovering,  who  showed  undis 
guised  astonishment.  "  Miss  Lovering  will  bear  me 


124  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

out  iu  what  I  am  going  to.  say,"  —  whereupon  all  the 
people  turned  to  Sally,  who  bit  her  lip  in  vexation. 
But  at  this  point  Mrs.  Blake  interrupted  him. 

'"  Mr.  Manlius,"  said  she,  quietly,  "  I  do  not  know 
just  what  you  may  be  about  to  say,  but  from  the  tone 
of  your  words  I  infer  that  you  intend  to  excite  suspi 
cion  against  my  nephew  here.  Is  it  so  ?  " 

"  No,  madam,"  said  he ;  and  then  lowering  his  voice 
expressively,  "  but  to  make  certain  statements  which 
shall  prove  my  own  instinctive  convictions  to  have  been 
well  founded." 

"  It  is  all  one,"  said  she.  "  I  will  have  nothing  of 
the  kind  said  to  me,  or  in  my  presence.  It  is  an  in 
sult." 

"  Suppose  we  let  him  say  what  he  wishes,  aunt,"  said 
Nicholas,  his  voice  trembling  a  little  with  excitement. 
"  I  do  not  know,  either,  what  he  is  about  to  say,  but 
since  he  has  gone  so  far,  I  should  like  to  hear  the  rest. 
It  certainly  is  better  than  to  have  all  this  insinuation 
of  evil.  Mr.  Manlius,  do  me  the  favor  to  clear  your 
mind  of  all  you  have  on  it."  Mrs.  Blake  silently  gave 
assent,  nor  was  she  displeased  to  have  her  nephew  take 
the  matter  thus  into  his  own  hands. 

"  I  will  go  on,"  said  Mr.  Manlius  ;  "  it  is  not  the  first 
time,  madam,  that  one  who  has  a  painful  public  duty  to 
perform  has  been  suspected  of  false  motives.  Do  you 
think  it  was  for  any  personal  aggrandizement  of  my 
own  that  I  took  pains  to  make  these  inquiries,  to  take 
an  expensive  journey,  to  neglect  my  business  ?  No, 
madam,  I  did  it  all  for  your  benefit,  because  I  thought 
it  was  my  duty  as  a  member  of  society  brought  into 
contact  with  you,  and  with  other  dwellers  in  the  court, 
to  expose  the  iniquities  of  this  interloper." 

"  Mr.  Manlius,  you  will  please  confine  yourself  to 
facts,  and  spare  us  these  names,"  said  Nicholas. 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  125 

"  The  names  will  keep,  sir,  the  names  will  keep," 
cried  Mr.  Manlius,  angry  at  the  coolness  of  the  person 
whom  he  regarded  as  the  prisoner  at  the  bar.  "  You 
want  the  facts,  do  you?  Mrs.  Blake  and  neighbors, 
Mrs.  Manlius  will  bear  me  out  when  I  say  that  in  this 
room,  on  Christmas  eve,  I  turned  to  her  and  said,  'that 
man  is  a  base  impostor  ; '  and  she  will  remember  that 
before  we  came  here,  while  we  were  yet  in  Miss  Fix's 
hospitable  parlor,  before  his  pretensions  had  been  ex 
posed,  I  said,  'he  is  an  impostor;'  and  now,  with  the 
full  evidence  in  my  possession,  I  repeat  it,  he  is  an  im 
postor,  and  something  worse.  It  has  been  my  life-long 
study  to  read  character,  and  what  I  read  that  night  I 
have  confirmed  by  careful  examination  since."  The  au 
dience  heard  all  this  with  more  equanimity  that  Nicho 
las  himself  remained  so  much  like  one  of  them,  and  did 
not  seem  to  be  especially  disturbed  by  the  muttering 
about  his  head.  Mrs.  Manlius  fanned  herself  excitedly, 
not  daring  to  look  at  her  husband  ;  Miss  Fix  relieved 
herself  by  vicious  little  digs  at  the  speaker  with  a  pair 
of  scissors,  delivered  from  the  other  side  of  the  room 
under  the  cover  of  Mr.  Windgraff  and  Miss  Levering. 
Mr.  Windgraff  listened  gravely,  but  with  a  blushing 
face,  while  Miss  Lovering,  looking  shyly  at  Nicholas 
now  and  then,  sat  in  evident  pain,  plainly  the  mo^t  un 
comfortable  person  in  the  room.  Her  name  had  been 
used  and  she  knew  not  into  what  disagreeable  associa 
tions  she  was  to  be  dragged.  Mr.  Le  CJear  pulled  his 
moustache  and  eyed  the  different  persons  in  the  group, 
while  his  lip  curled  at  the  vulgarity  of  the  whole  pro 
ceeding.  "  It  is  a  poor  melodrama  put  on  an  insuffi 
cient  stage,"  he  whispered  to  Miss  Lovering.  Miss 
Lovering's  grandfather  had  his  trumpet  turned  to  the 
speaker,  to  whom  he  listened,  every  once  in.  a  while 
taking  his  trumpet  out  and  deliberately  emptying  the 


126  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

supposed  contents,  then  gravely  replacing  it,  a  panto 
mime  which  gave  Miss  Fix  infinite  pleasure,  recognized 
by  pantomimic  applause  on  her  part  as  she  caught  the 
old  gentleman's  eye.  Mrs.  Starkey,  who  was  by  Dr. 
Checker,  presented  the  most  forlorn  appearance.  She 
glanced  timidly  at  the  speaker  and  then  at  Nicholas 
and  Mrs.  Blake,  her  eye  traveling  back  and  forth  be 
tween  them,  as  if  she  needed  the  assurance  which  the 
composure  of  the  accused  gave,  to  withstand  the  shock 
produced  by  the  charges  of  the  accuser.  Yet,  as  Mr. 
Manlius  went  on,  a  change  passed  over  her  manner,  and 
little  by  little  the  attention  of  the  company  settled  on 
her  and  the  speaker,  rather  than  on  Nicholas,  for  her 
drooping  attitude  gave  place  to  excitement,  and  her 
eyes  began  to  flash  as  she  listened  to  the  development 
of  Mr.  Manlius's  accusation. 

"On  Saturday,  the  seventh  day  of  January  last 
past,"  continued  Mr.  Manlius,  referring  carefully  to  his 
note-book,  "  I  called  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening 
upon  my  neighbor,  Mrs.  Eunice  Blake,  living  in  house 
Number  Four,  Amory  Court,  who  received  me  in  this 
room  where  we  now  are."  Mr.  Manlius  looked  round 
upon  the  company  as  if  citing  them  all  as  witnesses  to 
the  important  fact  of  the  room.  "  We  entered  into 
conversation  respecting  her  nephew.  In  the  course 
of  that  conversation,"  —  and  here  Mr.  Manlius  laid  his 
forefinger  on  the  several  passages  in  his  memorandum- 
book, —  "  Mrs.  Blake  informed  me  that  her  nephew  had 
informed  her  that  he  had  studied  medicine  privately 
with  his  father  in  the  country — privately,  yes,  quite 
privately,  in  a  small  house  on  the  side  of  Round  Top 
Mountain,  in  the  village  of  Kingston,  as  I  afterward  as 
certained,  not  far  from  the  house  of  one  Silas  King,"  — 
and  here  he  looked  steadfastly  at  Nicholas,  glancing 
afterward  at  Miss  Levering,  —  "  and  his  son  Silas  King, 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  127 

and  —  his  daughter,  Emma  King."  Nicholas  shaded 
his  face  with  his  hand,  and  then  reached  out  for  his 
aunt's  hand,  which  was  given  him. 

"  Shall  I  stop  him  ? "  whispered  Mrs.  Blake,  ener 
getically;  but  Nicholas  shook  his  head.  Miss  Lovering 
played  with  her  handkerchief  nervously. 

"  He  studied  medicine,"  Mr.  Manlius  went  on,  "  but 
not  with  the  purpose  of  practicing.  I  am  quoting  from 
the  words  of  his  aunt.  Moreover,  this  young  man 
carefully  abstained  from  saying  what  his  intentions 
were.  He  took  possession  of  the  upper  story  for  what 
he  calls  his  workshop  and  his  bedroom.  His  aunt, 
confined  to  this  room,  is  obliged  to  leave  him  to  his 
own  devices,  and  so  carefully  does  he  conceal  his  oper 
ations  that  the  single  domestic  kept,  a  very  trusty  girl, 
Hannah  by  name,  "  —  here  there  was  a  decided  rustle 
in  the  entry,  and  an  excited  whisper, — 

"  That 's  you,  Hannah.  Why  don't  you  go  in  ?"  Mr. 
Manlius  looked  at  his  wife. 

"  Caroline,"  said  he,  "  I  heard  Desire's  voice.  Did 
she  come  with  you,  Mrs.  Starkey  ? "  and  he  turned 
sternly  to  Mrs.  Starkey. 

"  No,  sir,"  said  she,  decisively.  "  If  she  came,  it  was 
of  her  own  will."  She  was  about  to  say  more,  but  Mr. 
Manlius  hastily  proceeded  :  — 

"  Let  her  remain,  let  her  remain.  It  may  be  a  les 
son  to  her  for  life." 

"  Liz  is  here,  too,"  came  the  same  whisper  from  the 
entry,  but  Mr.  Manlius  continued  :  — 

"This  girl  Hannah  is  deliberately  frightened  by  the 
young  man  to  prevent  her  ever  from  entering  his  apart 
ments.  Indeed,  so  scrupulous  was  he  in  keeping  his 
work  secret,  that  five  days  afterward,  when  I  called 
upon  him,  Thursday,  the  thirteenth  ultimo,  and  under 
took,  as  any  friend  naturally  might,  to  visit  him  in  his 


128  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

own  room,  I  was  deliberately  driven  down-stairs  again, 
but  at  that  interview  he  himself  confessed  to  me  that 
he  had  intentionally  prevented  this  Hannah,  the  only 
person  who  could  enter,  from  ever  going  into  his  room, 
by  threatening  to  poison  her  if  she  went  in." 

"  Oh,  what  a  fib  !  "  came  from  the  entry. 

"And  so  guilty,"  continued  Mr.  Manilas,  disregard 
ing  the  interruption,  —  "so  guilty  was  this  young  man's 
conscience  that  at  the  merely  casual  mention  by  me  of 
the  word  poison,  he  —  but  I  will  read  what  I  wrote 
in  my  note-book  on  the  spot,  my  ipse  dixit,  in  fact. 
'I  said,  with  poison,  for  example,  when  N.  J.  trembled 
violently,  walking  in  agitation  back  and  forth  across 
the  room,  and  not  seeing  me  as  I  write  these  words.' 
There,  that  is  like  a  photograph.  The  sun  can't  lie. 
as  you  have  often  heard  it  said.  At  this  same  inter 
view  he  utterly  refused  to  inform  me  from  what  part 
of  the  country  he  had  come.  I  had  previously  learned, 
in  conversation  with  our  good  friend,  Miss  Fix  "  — 

"  Well,  what  did  you  learn  from  me?  "  exploded  that 
lady  like  a  torpedo. 

"  That  this  young  man  had  carefully  concealed  from 
her  the  facts  regarding  his  early  life,  and  she  did  not 
even  know  from  where  he  had  come."  It  was  with 
difficulty  that  Miss  Pix  restrained  herself  from  further 
indignant  words.  "  Moreover,  when  I  mentioned  to 
him  my  wish  to  visit  his  native  town  on  special  business 
of  my  own,  which  I  frankly  explained  to  him,  he  the 
more  refused  to  make  known  the  place  to  me.  But  I 
was  not  thus  to  be  balked,  and  at  this  point  I  may 
reverently  say  that  what  some  people  call  chance  opened 
the  way  to  my  further  investigations.  I  was  making  a 
social  call  upon  our  learned  friend,  Dr.  Checker  "  — 

"  I  '11  thank  you  not  to  call  me  friend,"  said  Dr. 
Checker,  tartly,  "till  you  have  proved  this  idiotic 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  129 

case  of  yours."  Mr.  Manlius  drew  himself  proudly 
up. 

"  I  am  ready  to  stand  alone  in  this  cause,"  said  he. 
"  I  met  at  Dr.  Checker's  his  granddaughter,  Miss  Lov- 
ering,  whom  you  see  before  you,  and  learned  in  con 
versation  with  her  that  she  and  the  young  man  came 
from  the  same  village."  At  this  Nicholas  looked  up 
with  half-opened  eyelids  and  an  odd  expression  of  rec 
ognition  as  he  bent  his  eyes  on  the  young  lady,  who 
was  red  with  mortification  at  the  false  position  in  which 
she  found  herself,  aud  was  tapping  impatiently  with 
her  foot. 

"  Furthermore,  when  I  came  to  inquire  as  to  the 
character  which  the  young  man  bore  in  his  native  vil 
lage,  I  found  from  Miss  Lovering's  hesitation  and 
guarded  manner  that  there  was  something  behind  what 
she  said  ;  indeed,  I  gathered  distinctly  from  her  that 
his  character  would  not  bear  searching  tests,  and  that 
he  concealed  behind  a  plausible  exterior  a  very  doubt 
ful,  very  doubtful  life."  Miss  Lovering  appealed 
to  one  and  another  near  her,  with  mute  protestation. 
Mr.  Windgraff,  whose  face  had  been  in  a  steady  glow, 
here  spoke  up,  — 

"  The  Miss  Lovering  says  that  is  all  false." 

"  Hear  him  !  "  cried  Miss  Fix,  excitedly  poking  Mr. 
"Windgraff. 

"  Be  that  as  it  may,"  said  Mr.  Manlius,  sternly,  "  I 
immediately  resolved  to  examine  this  matter  to  the 
bottom,  and  the  very  next  morning,  Thursday,  the  fifth 
of  February,  I  took  the  train  to  Kingston,  where  I 
spent  the  entire  day  amongst  the  clergy  and  intelligent 
population  of  that  village,  asking  questions  and  exam 
ining  witnesses,  so  to  speak,  in  order  to  satisfy  myself 
on  the  point.  The  testimony  all  pointed  indubitably 
to  one  fact.  In  that  village  resided  a  so-called  doctor 
9 


130  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

and  his  son."  Nicholas  made  a  motion  to  speak,  but 
restrained  himself.  "  They  lived  apart  from  people, 
seeing  few,  and  knowing  still  fewer.  They  shut  them 
selves  up  in  their  house,  just  as  this  young  man  shuts 
himself  up  in  his  room  above  this,  and  had  their  retorts 
and  mortars,  just  as  I  have  often  heard,  and  Mrs.  Star- 
key  here  has  heard  this  young  man  pounding  and  con 
cocting  in  his  workshop  above  here.  Now  what  does 
all  this  mean  ?  I  will  tell  you  what  it  means.  The 
doctor  dies,  and  suddenly,  without  advising  with  any 
one,  the  young  man  leaves  the  town.  He  comes  here, 
choosing  the  day  before  Christmas,  as  a  time  when 
there  is  a  general  disposition  toward  good  fellowship 
and  mirth.  He  calls  upon  the  learned  Dr.  Chocker  and 
passes  himself  off  as  the  young  gentleman  whom  I  see 
before  me,  Mr.  Paul  Le  Clear ;  he  comes  to  my  house 
and  gives  himself  out  as  the  nephew  of  the  worthy 
woman  to  whom,  for  many  years,  I  have  given  shelter 
and  a  home,  and  then,  finding  his  way  here  throws  her 
off  rudely  and  claims  a  connection  with  the  lady  of  the 
house.  It  is  monstrous,  incredible,  but  that  is  not  all. 
Upon  pretense  he  secludes  himself,  occupies  a  room  re 
mote  from  the  rest  of  the  household,  where  he  works 
late  into  the  night  secretly  ;  refuses  all  admission  and 
does  not  even  tell  his  aunt,  as  he  calls  her,  what  he  is 
engaged  upon.  And  why  ?  Because,  as  in  Kingston, 
Emma  King  was  poisoned  by  the  art  of  Dr.  Judge." 

"  Stop,  scoundrel !  "  exclaimed  Nicholas,  springing 
up.  "  Say  what  infernal  nonsense  you  please  about  me, 
but  don't  you  speak  my  father's  name  in  that  way." 

"  Soprian  Manlius !  "  Every  one  turned  in  surprise. 
Mrs.  Starkey  had  risen  from  her  seat,  and  was  leaning 
her  hands  upon  the  table  near  him.  Her  whole  man 
ner  was  changed.  She  was  agitated  and  pale,  but 
spoke  with  a  slow,  deliberate  voice,  that  showed  her 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  131 

under  control,  but  not  the  nerveless,  passive  woman  to 
whom  they  were  accustomed.  "  Soprian,"  she  said 
again,  "  who  am  I  ?  " 

"  Why,  Eunice  Starkey,"  said  he,  with  a  light  air ; 
and  then,  persuasively,  "  come  Eunice,  I  think  perhaps 
you  and  Caroline  had  better  take  the  children  home.  I 
see  they  have  come  over  here,  and  they  ought  to  be  in 
bed."  He  tapped  his  forehead  significantly  to  the  rest 
of  the  company,  and  Mrs.  Manlius  made  a  motion  as 
if  she  would  start. 

"  No,  Soprian,"  said  Mrs.  Starkey,  "  you  are  wrong 
this  time.  I  have  my  wits  about  me.  I  am  clear  in 
my  head,  and  I  know  perfectly  well  when  I  am  con 
fused  and  when  I  am  clear.  I  was  confused  last 
Christmas,  when  these  people  saw  me  ;  to-night  I  came 
here  ignorant  of  your  intentions,  and  stayed  against  my 
will,  but  a  cloud  has  passed  away,  and  I  see  things  as  I 
have  tried  to  see  them  for  a  long  while.  Again  I  ask 
you,  who  am  I  ?  "  She  paused,  but  Mr.  Manlius  made 
no  answer,  save  to  shake  his  head  dolefully  and  look 
pitying. 

"  I  am  the  woman  who  was  Eunice  Brown.  That  you 
know,  Mr.  Judge,  and  you,  Mrs.  Blake,  and  you,  Miss 
Fix.  But  you  do  not  know,  because  I  never  told  you, 
that  when  I  was  a  girl  I  was  to  have  married  that  man 
there.  He  promised  to  marry  me,  but  suddenly  my  father 
died  and  it  was  found  that  I  had  no  money.  Then  So 
prian  went  away,  —  yes,  I  will  tell  the  whole,  Mr.  Man 
lius,  —  and  I  waited  for  him  but  he  did  not  come.  Then 
he  wrote  to  me  that  he  heard  I  had  a  bad  character  and 
he  could  never  marry  me.  Oh,  how  angry  I  was.  It 
was  not  true,  dear  friends.  No,  there  was  not  a  word 
of  truth  in  it,  not  a  breath.  But  I  was  near  dead  with 
sickness  after  that,  and  when  I  came  to  life  again,  as  it 
were,  I  was  so  sad  and  shaken  that  when  Archibald 


132  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

Starkey  came  and  asked  me  to  marry  him,  as  he  had 
often  asked  me  before,  I  married  him.  It  was  a  sin, 
God  knows,  I  was  so  unhappy.  And  then  he  died, 
just  a  month  after:  if  he  had  lived  I  think  he  would 
have  won  me,  he  was  so  patient  like.  But  when  he 
was  dead,  Oh  my  heart  went  out  to  Soprian.  I  thought 
now  I  was  a  widow  I  could  go  and  see  him,  and  per 
haps  it  could  all  be  as  it  was.  God  forgive  me.  I 
had  no  right  to  keep  on  loving  him,  but  you  see,  dear 
friends,  my  sickness  had  made  me  strange  like,  and  one 
while  I  was  all  hot  to  go  to  him,  and  another  while  I 
was  dead  with  fear.  But  so  it  was  that  once  when  I 
was  all  in  a  fever  I  set  out  and  I  traveled.  I  had  his 
letter  and  I  knew  where  he  wrote  from,  for  it  had  a 
printed  head  and  there  was  his  name  with  his  business 
and  all.  And  when  I  got  there  it  was  dark,  and  the 
place  was  closed,  but  there  was  somebody  by  who  knew 
where  his  house  was,  and  so  I  found  it,  not  here  in  this 
court,  but  where  he  lived  then,  in  Sussex  Street,  and 
when  I  reached  it  I  was  cold,  and  numb,  and  dead  like 
—  how  clear  I  remember  it  all  now.  The  door  opened 
and  I  saw  his  wife.  1  knew  it  was  she,  for  she  was  a 
girl  who  had  been  in  our  village  visiting,  and  she  knew 
me,  but  she  knew  no  evil  against  me.  No,  Caroline  is 
not  much  to  blame.  She  brought  me  in.  J  was  half 
dead  and  I  wanted,  I  said,  to  see  Soprian.  Then  he 
came  and  he  was  going  to  put  me  out  again,  but  I  told 
him  I  had  brought  a  little  money  with  me  and  I  would 
work  in  the  house,  for  I  had  no  home,  and  I  would  not 
trouble  him.  Yes,  I  loved  him  then  and  he  knew  it, 
but  he  said  if  Caroline  knew  it  she  would  not  let  me 
live  there.  And  oh,  I  wanted  to  live  near  him,  and  so 
I  said  nothing.  But  it  was  a  terrible  life,  and  all  my 
love  that  was  so  hot  burned  out.  Yes,  it  went  into 
ashes  and  now  it  is  cold,  and  when  the  times  come  upon 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  133 

me  again,  as  they  do  come,  it  may  be  once  a  month, 
I  do  not  have  to  shut   myself  up  lest  I  should  betray 
myself,  but  I  know  I  am  light-headed  and  say  many 
strange  and  silly  things.      But  my  friends,  dear  Mrs. 
Blake  and  all,  I  am  not  light-headed  to-night.     He  has 
been  telling  me  every  little  while  this  last  year  that  I 
must  go,  he  is  tired  of  seeing  me  about,  and  indeed  I 
do  not  wonder.     And  I  had  no  place  to  go,  not  a  friend 
whom  I  could  speak  to.     Then  you  came,  Mr.  Judge, 
and  light-headed  as  I  was,  I  thought  you  might  be   my 
sister's  son,  for  I  had   a   sister  who  married  a  judge, 
but  she  died  long  ago.     I  caught  at  it,  for  I  thought  it 
was  an  escape,  and  then  when  it  went  out  I  should 
have  utterly  despaired,  but  I  saw  you,  Mrs.  Blake,  and 
I  saw  your  patience  and  your  sweet  face,  and  you  were 
kind  to  me,  and  Miss  Fix  was  kind,  and  I  came  here 
this  evening  when  all  was  quiet  at  the  house,  thinking 
I    would   tell  you  all,  but  I  did  not   know  that   there 
was  any  one    to  be  here,  and  I  did  not  know  that  I 
should  sit  and   listen  to  what  he  has  said,  God  forgive 
him,  and   hear  him  speak  his  base  thoughts  against  this 
young  man.     I  know  nothing  of  hig  journeys,  and  his 
memorandum-books,  and  his  conversations,  but  I  heard 
enough  to  know  that  he   is  base  and   Nicholas  Judge, 
here,  is  true  and  pure,  and  as  I  sat  and  heard  him,  it 
rose  and  it  rose  within  me  here  in  this  place  to  say  what 
I  have  said   before  you  all,  and    I   ask  you,  Soprian 
Manlius,  is  it  true  ?     Is  it  true  ?  "     There  was  silence 
in  the  room.     All  eyes  were  bent  on  the  man,  who  had 
been  sitting  with  his  eyes  shut,  as  if  he  could  not  bear 
to  look  upon  such   a  perjurer  before  him,  while  Mrs. 
Manlius  had  her  face  buried  in  her  handkerchief,  and 
was  sobbing  silently  behind  it. 

"  That  my  children  should  hear  such  words  !  "  said 
Mr.  Manlius,   solemnly.     "  Caroline,  this  is  no  place 


134  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

for  them,  or  for  us.  We  have  done  our  duty.  "We 
leave  them  to  their  own  thoughts.  What  had  I  to  gain 
by  all  this?"  he  asked  generally  of  the  company,  look 
ing  about  him ;  "  was  it  anything  for  my  personal  ad 
vantage  that  I  should  undertake  to  expose  this  deceit 
ful  young  man  ?  You  may  judge  between  me  and  her. 
Come  Caroline,"  and  he  went  heavily  out  of  the  room 
and  down  the  stairs  ;  his  children  had  already  gone 
down  before  him  and  stood  waiting  below  in  terror. 
Mrs.  Starkey  bowed  her  heard  on  the  table  and  the 
tears  came,  warm  tears  that  flowed  while  she  was  mute 
with  the  fullness  of  her  sorrow.  One  by  one  the 
guests,  oppressed  by  the  scene,  went  away  silently, 
shaking  hands  with  Mrs.  Blake,  but  without  words. 
They  left  the  two  women  alone  together.  Nicholas  also 
had  left  them,  and  reluctant  to  speak  to  the  rest,  had 
gone  up  into  his  room.  As  the  company  went  down 
stairs,  the  door  into  Miss  Fix's  house  was  open  and  they 
all  followed  the  lead  of  that  good  lady  who  beckoned 
them  earnestly  into  her  hall. 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  135 


CHAPTER  IX. 

"  DR.  CHOCKER  !  "  said  Miss  Fix,  as  the  door  closed 
behind  them,  "  I  want  to  waltz  with  you.  I  must  do 
something.  Here  !  "  and  darting  at  a  sofa  cushion,  she 
seized  a  shawl  and  coat,  and  Mr.  Windgraff's  hat,  and 
as  the  company  looked  on,  at  first  in  perplexity  and 
then  with  separate  explosions  of  discovery,  she  nimbly 
made  up  a  portly  figure  which  she  propped  up  on  a 
chair. 

"  Mr.  Manlius,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  Mr.  Sopriaa 
Manlius,  the  friend  of  Virtue,  the  protector  of  the  fallen, 
the  minister  of  Justice,"  and  then  with  a  vigorous 
sweep  of  her  hand  she  batted  the  figure  off  the  chair 
on  to  the  floor,  and  seizing  Dr.  Checker's  hand,  she  mo 
tioned  to  Sally,  who,  catching  her  grandfather's  other 
hand,  gave  her  own  to  Mr.  Le  Clear,  who  completed  the 
circle  with  Mr.  Windgraff,  and  so  they  executed  a  tri 
umphant  war  dance  over  the  prostrate  figure. 

Miss  Fix's  ebullition  had  seized  them  all,  but  the 
stuffed  enemy  was  too  paltry  to  permit  an  excessive 
jubilation,  and  so  Miss  Fix,  resolving  the  figure  into  its 
ultimate  atoms,  turned  to  Dr.  Chocker,  and  said,  — 

"  I  want  to  get  the  taste  of  Mr.  Manlius  out  of  my 
mouth.  Won't  you  let  us  have  a  little  music?" 

"  I  would  n't  mind  singing  a  song  myself,"  said  the 
Doctor,  wagging  his  trumpet,  "  if  I  knew  one,"  he 
added,  looking  slyly  at  his  granddaughter,  as  one  who 
would  have  his  little  joke,  "  But  she  can  play,  —  Sally 
can  play,  if  she  wants  to." 


136  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

*  Do,  dear  Miss  Levering ;  nothing  will  put  us  into 
better  humor." 

"  Perhaps  Miss  Levering  will  play  the  '  Meerstille  ' 
now,"  said  Mr.  Le  Clear.  "  Mr.  Manlius  has  stirred  us 
up  so,  that  we  ought  to  have  some  oil  poured  on  the 
waters." 

"  The  name  of  the  person  that  begins  with  M  is  not 
to  be  mentioned  again  in  my  house,"  said  Miss  Fix, 
with  crushing  severity.  "  Yes,  I  have  the  piece  — 
will  you  play  it,  Miss  Lovering  ?  " 

"  I  have  played  very  little  before  others,"  said  the 
young  lady,  hesitating  ;  then  she  drew  off  her  gloves. 
"  I  will  play  something  simple,"  said  she,  "  if  you  and 
Mr.  Windgraff  will  follow."  She  played  a  rondeau 
unaffectedly  and  then  rose  with  alacrity.  "  Now,  Miss 
Fix,"  said  she,  and  that  lady,  calling  Mr.  Windgraff 
to  her  aid,  began  looking  over  her  music.  But  Doctor 
Checker  showed  evident  signs  of  uneasiness,  and  his 
granddaughter,  while  looking  wistfully  at  the  two  mu 
sicians,  understood  the  intimations  which  he  gave,  and 
rose  to  bid  Miss  Fix  good  evening. 

"  Oh,  but  do  stay,"  said  she. 

"  Grandfather  rarely  goes  out ;  and  I  think  he  was 
very  good-natured  to  come  to-night,  so  I  am  going  to 
be  equally  good-natured,  and  return  with  him." 

"  Don't  you  ever  marry,"  said  Dr.  Checker,  at  this 
point.  "  Miss  Fix,  don't  you  ever  marry  an  intelli 
gence  office  keeper." 

"  I  'd  marry  an  idiot  first,"  said  Miss  Fix,  vehe 
mently. 

"  Then  you  'd  marry  him,"  said  the  Doctor,  with  a 
triumphant  chuckle.  "  Come,  Sally." 

"  Miss  Lovering,"  said  Mr.  Le  Clear,  "  I  should  be 
very  glad  to  be  responsible  for  your  safe  delivery  at 
Number  One,  if  you  can  wait  to  hear  the  music." 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  137 

"  Oh,  I  should  like  to  stay,"  said  Sally,  impulsively, 
but  she  hesitated  ;  to  make  the  arrangement  with  her 
grandfather  was  a  little  awkward. 

"  Here,  let  me  explain,"  said  Miss  Fix.  "  Dr. 
Chocker,  I  owe  your  granddaughter  a  debt,  and  I  can 
only  pay  it  now  in  music.  She  promised  to  play  if 
Mr.  Windgraff  and  I  would  play  afterward.  Now,  if 
you  '11  leave  her  with  me,  I  '11  see  that  she  is  safely  re 
turned  to  you.  I  know  you  won't  stay.  If  I  only 
had  sixteen  thousand  books  in  black  letter,  and  bound 
in  old  leather,  I  never  could  get  you  out  of  the 
house." 

"  Sally  may  stay,"  said  the  old  gentleman.  "  Pay 
your  debts ;  pay  your  debts,"  and  he  shuffled  off, 
quite  willing  to  finish  the  evening  in  his  study.  As 
the  door  closed  behind  him,  there  came  a  knock  at  the 
door  which  connected  Miss  Fix's  house  with  her  neigh 
bor's.  Miss  Fix  ran  to  open  it. 

"  Oh,  Nicholas,  it 's  you,  is  it  ?  Come  in,  come  in. 
We  are  going  to  have  some  music." 

"  I  thought  I  heard  some  music,  and  that 's  why  I 
came.  I  want  something  to  drive  this  evil  spirit  out 
of  my  house.  You  are  playing  alone,  are  n't  you  ?  " 

"  No,  Mr.  Windgraff  is  here,"  said  the  politic  lady. 
"  Shall  we  leave  the  door  open,  so  that  your  aunt  can 
hear  ?  " 

"  Do,  by  all  means,"  said  he.  "  She  was  too  tired 
to  have  me,  and  she  has  made  Mrs.  Starkey  comfort 
able,  so  I  have  come  away  for  a  few  minutes.  Mr. 
Manlius  came  back  again." 

"  Hush,"  said  Miss  Fix,  covering  his  mouth.  "  Come 
into  your  entry.  There.  I  don't  want  that  man's 
name  heard  in  my  house  again.  Well,  what  did  he 
come  back  for  ?  " 

"  His  key,"  said  Nicholas,  laughing.     "  Mrs.  Starkey 


138  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

had  carried  it  off;  the  children  let  themselves  out  the 
back  way,  and  so  the  family  all  got  into  the  house 
that  fashion  ;  but  Mr.  Manlius  came  again,  and  asked 
Hannah  for  it." 

"  Did  she  go  and  get  it?  " 

"  Oh,  she  told  me,  and  I  got  it  from  Mrs.  Starkey 
and  went  down  to  the  door.  He  seemed  to  have 
shrunk  somewhat.  Somehow  he  looked  leaner." 

"  My  goodness  !  "  said  Miss  Fix  ;  "  it  was  a  collapse, 
depend  upon  it.  He  could  not  carry  so  much  virtue, 
so  he  pricked  it;  how  flabby  he  must  be  now." 

Nicholas  laughed.  "  I  gave  him  the  key,  without 
saying  a  word.  He  said  nothing,  either ;  but  he 
looked  —  well,  I  think  he  went  off  with  the  satisfac 
tion  of  having  put  all  his  exploded  virtue  into  a  look. 
Bah  !  let  us  get  away  from  him."  They  left  Mrs. 
Blake's  side  of  the  door,  and  returned  to  Miss  Fix's 
house.  The  delightful  tuning  of  a  violin  could  be  heard, 
and  Nicholas,  expectant  of  his  music,  entered  the  room 
with  a  smile  on  his  face  which  faded  as  he  discovered 
that  Miss  Levering  and  Mr.  Le  Clear  were  of  the 
party.  He  bowed  awkwardly.  They  were  so  much  a 
part  of  the  late  performances  that  he  had  an  uncom 
fortable  consciousness  of  being  still  on  his  defense 
with  them.  Miss  Fix  and  Mr.  Windgraff,  as  a  private 
orchestra,  were  in  a  degree  removed  from  his  spiritual 
neighborhood.  But  he  could  not  retreat,  and  besides, 
the  music  was  coming. 

Miss  Fix  and  Mr.  Windgraff  played  with  a  nicety 
of  harmony  which  was  the  result  of  long  continued 
exercise.  They  were  both  teachers,  and  Mr.  Windgraff 
a  member  also  of  one  or  two  orchestras ;  but  in  spite 
of  this  professional  attitude  toward  music  they  found 
their  rest  and  contentment  in  an  unrestrained  enjoy 
ment  of  the  music  which  they  were  obliged  to  hear 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  139 

put  to  torture  every  day  of  their  lives.  They  had  a 
passion  for  the  old  music  writers,  and  by  a  private 
understanding  contributed  to  what  they  called  their 
Musical  Fund,  a  box  which  stood  in  Miss  Fix's  parlor, 
into  which  each  dropped,  unknown  to  the  other,  such 
money  as  could  be  spared  for  purchase,  from  time  to 
time,  of  music  arranged  for  piano  and  violin.  Neither 
claimed  the  music  ;  but  they  declared  that  the  resulting 
library  should  some  day  be  presented  to  the  most  de 
serving  and  musical  twins  who  should  appear  among 
their  scholars.  They  made  a  delightful  little  mystery 
of  the  Musical  Fund,  and  although  Miss  Pix  never 
lacked  any  stimulus  to  her  good  spirits,  it  was  almost 
a  matter  of  doubt  how  they  could  have  maintained 
their  mutual  pleasantry,  if  it  had  not  been  for  the 
smiling  Musical  Fund,  which  was  the  occasion  of  so 
much  merriment  between  them.  The  Musical  Fund 
box  was  a  contrivance  of  Mr.  Windgraff's ;  a  little 
music-box,  which  was  set  in  operation  by  a  crank.  It 
played  but  one  air,  —  an  offertory,  Mr.  Windgraff  de 
clared  —  but  at  one  point  in  the  music,  a  little  door 
flew  open,  and  disclosed  .four  hands  held  out ;  into 
them  the  money  was  dropped,  and  then  they  opened, 
by  the  weight  of  the  coin,  and  let  the  pieces  through 
into  a  treasury  below.  Nicholas  had  once  slyly  at 
tempted  to  bestow  a  largess,  in  token  of  his  gratitude 
for  the  music  he  heard  in  the  room ;  but,  for  some 
reason,  the  contrivance  failed  to  work,  and  Miss  Pix 
and  Mr.  Windgraff  declared  that  the  twins  behind  the 
scenes  had  never  been  introduced,  and  refused  to  shake 
hands. 

"  This  little  box  is  not  as  versatile  as  your  music- 
box,  Mr.  Le  Clear,"  said  Nicholas,  as  his  neighbor  was 
examining  it,  in  one  of  the  intervals  of  the  music. 

"  Mine  ?  "  he  asked,  in  response,  looking  up  with  a 


140  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

little  surprise.  "  Oh,  I  remember,  you  called  on  me 
once.  I  have  a  music -box,  Miss  Lovering,"  he  said, 
turning  to  the  lady,  "  in  default  of  any  musical  execu 
tion  of  my  own  ;  I  am  afraid  it  is  a  somewhat  indolent 
substitute." 

"I  never  heard  a  music-box,"  said  she,  "  except  this, 
though  I  have  read  of  them." 

ft  A  good  music-box,"  said  Le  Clear,  "  is  certainly  a 
very  companionable  little  fellow.  You  wind  it  and 
it  plays  a  little  air  with  great  accuracy,  then  rests 
a  moment  and  plays  another.  The  greatest  charm  I 
think  is  in  the  pause  between  the  different  airs ;  you 
have  such  a  delicious  expectation,  and  then  the  sounds 
tinkle  again  like  a  sort  of  musical  rain." 

"  But  it  must  be  very  mechanical." 

"  Oh,  entirely  so,  but  it  is  perfectly  unpretentious. 
It  does  not  profess  to  be  a  flute,  or  a  violin,  or  a  harp 
or  an  orchestra  of  any  sort,  and  "you  are  never  con 
fused  by  fancying  somebody  is  playing.  Besides,  I 
never  have  to  applaud  when  the  music  is  over." 

"  I  am 'afraid  I  should  miss  that  part,"  said  Sally. 
"I  don't  know  that  I  always  want  to  clap  or  stamp, 
that  seems  such  a  childish  way  of  showing  one  's  grati 
fication,  but  I  am  divided  between  a  desire  to  sit  right 
down  at  the  instrument  that  has  been  giving  out  the 
music,  and  a  wish  to  say  something  agreeable  to  the 
person  who  has  been  playing." 

"  I  feel  so,  too,"  said  Nicholas,  ingenuously.  "  I 
have  sometimes  fancied  I  should  like  to  make  an  agree 
ment  with  a  respectable  number  of  people  to  cry 
bravo  !  after  a  fine  performance,  but  it  requires  too 
much  courage  for  one  to  shout  for  himself." 

"  Did  you  ever  try  it  ?  "  asked  Le  Clear. 

"  Yes,  I  did,  once.  I  was  so  excited  over  a  passage 
in  Ole  Bull's  playing,  that  I  jumped  up  without  think- 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  141 

ing  and  shouted  hurrah  !  which  is  American,  I  suppose, 
for  bravo  !  but  the  instant  I  had  done  it  there  was 
such  a  dead  silence  about  me  that  I  fell  to  reading  my 
programme  intently,  conscious  all  the  time  that  people 
were  staring  at  me." 

"  And  what  did  Ole  Bull  say  ?  "  laughingly  asked 
Miss  Lovering. 

"  I  really  fancied  that  when  I  did  venture  my  soli 
tary  shout,  he  saw  me  and  smiled  and  bowed.  At  any 
rate  I  persuaded  myself  of  this,  in  order  to  preserve 
my  equability  and  during  the  rest  of  the  concert  was 
convinced  that  he  looked  steadfastly  at  me." 

"  I  would  give  much  to  hear  him,"  said  Miss  Lover- 
ing  ;  but  just  then  the  music  was  resumed.  Miss  Fix 
and  Mr.  Windgraff  had  a  delightful  freedom  about  their 
enjoyment  of  music.  They  did  not  seem  to  enter  upon 
the  evening's  pleasure  with  any  fixed  plan,  but  dropped 
into  such  music  as  first  suggested  itself  to  them,  and 
then  rambled  from  one  piece  to  another,  until  some 
chance  or  other  led  them  to  stop.  This  evening  Miss 
Pix  in  the  midst  of  a  sonata  suddenly  remembered  her 
responsibility  in  the  matter  of  Miss  Lovering,  and 
jumped  up  from  the  music-stool,  while  Mr.  Windgraff 
looked  on  in  some  surprise. 

"  Dear  me,"  said  she,  "  Miss  Sally,  there 's  your 
grandfather  waiting  for  you,  and  he  '11  never  trust  you 
here  again,  if  I  don't  take  you  right  home." 

"  I  am  afraid  he  has  forgotten  me  already,"  said 
Sally.  "  He  gets  among  his  books  and  that  is  the  end 
of  me  in  his  mind  till  he  sees  me  again." 

"  How  charming,"  said  Miss  Pix ;  "  so  he  is  con 
stantly  discovering  you  anew,"  and  she  looked  with  a 
twinkle  at  the  bright-faced  girl  before  her.  "  I  ought 
to  have  been  a  young  man,"  she  added,  "  I  keep  think 
ing  of  such  polite  things  to  say  to  my  scholars  and 


142  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

other  young  girls.  But  then  I  suppose  if  I  had  been  a 
young  man,  which  heaven  forbid,  I  should  never  have 
thought  of  them.  Mr.  Le  Clear,  will  you  kindly  see 
me  home  after  I  have  seen  Miss  Lovering  home.  That 
will  necessitate  your  going  with  us,  first." 

"  I  should  be  happy  to  be  kept  going  back  and  forth 
in  the  court  on  such  errands,"  said  the  young  man,  with 
a  bow. 

"  Why !  how  courtly  we  are  getting  to  be,"  said  Miss 
Fix,  briskly,  "and  to  think  that  before  Christinas  we 
all  looked  askance  at  each  other.  Mr.  Wiudgraff,  will 
you  wait  for  me  ?  " 

"  I  will  join  the  procession,  too,"  said  that  gentle 
man.  "  I  and  my  violin.  You  will  escort  Miss  Lov 
ering,  and  Mr.  Le  Clear  will  escort  you,  and  I  will  es 
cort  Mr.  Le  Clear,  and  my  little  violin  will  escort  me." 

"  Bravo  !  Mr.  Windgraff,"  said  Miss  Fix.  "  There,  I 
never  said  bravo  before,  and  it  sounds  just  like  a  book. 
Did  you  ever  say  bravo,  Nicholas  ?  Oh,  I  remember 
you  did.  You  told  me.  Never  mind,"  she  added,  see 
ing  the  color  rise  in  Judge's  face.  "  It 's  a  splendid 
word,  and  musical.  Come,  Nicholas,  you  can  escort  the 
little  violin." 

And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  the  entire  company  went 
out  of  Miss  Fix's  hospitable  house  to  see  Miss  Lovering 
safe  within  her  own  house.  Miss  Fix  took  possession 
of  her  special  charge,  and  as  they  passed  Mr.  Manlius's 
house,  she  shook  her  little  fist  at  it,  and  said  in  an  im 
pressive  whisper,  "  Avaunt ! "  so  that  it  was  almost  a 
wonder  the  house  and  its  inmates  did  not  fly  off  with  a 
frightened  scream.  Miss  Lovering  stood  on  the  door 
step  of  her  grandfather's  house  while  the  rest  of  the 
company  bade  her  good-night.  Mr.  Le  Clear  fulfilled  his 
duty  conscientiously  in  walking  back  to  Miss  Fix's  with 
her,  and  then  they  all  separated  to  their  several  homes. 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  143 

A  week  afterward,  as  Nicholas  came  into  the  court 
one  afternoon,  after  a  morning's  absence,  he  met  a  fur 
niture  wagon  going  off  well  loaded,  and  standing  one 
side  in  the  narrow  way  to  let  it  pass,  he  confronted  for 
a  moment  Lizzy  and  Dizzy  Manlius,  bearing  small 
packages  and  laboring  under  some  excitement.  Dizzy 
gave  a  tittering  little  scream,  while  Lizzy  blushed  a 
deep  red. 

"  We  're  going  off,"  said  Dizzy.  She  thought  she 
would  say  it  quite  boldly,  but  the  words  were  rather 
low. 

"  Ah  ?  good-by,"  said  Nicholas,  looking  a  little  puz 
zled.  He  entered  the  court,  and  saw  evident  signs  of 
moving  about  the  Manlius  house.  In  the  front  room 
he  saw  a  large  man  in  his  shirt  sleeves  putting  up  a 
placard  in  the  window.  It  was  Mr.  Maulius.  His 
wife's  voice  sounded  in  the  passage,  through  the  open 
door. 

"  S'prian,  come  S'prian."  Nicholas  hastened  into  his 
own  house  to  share  the  news  with  his  aunt.  He  found 
her  with  Mrs.  Starkey  sitting  near  her,  pale  and  ner 
vous.  Mr.  Manlius  had  left  at  the  door  such  small 
odds  and  ends  as  defied  orderly  removal,  with  the  re 
mark  that  these  belonged  to  that  woman  who  used  to 
live  with  them. 

u  Tell  your  mistress,"  he  said  to  Hannah,  in  a  loud 
voice,  "  that  if  she  ever  wants  to  learn  anything  about 
the  character  of  Eunice  Starkey,  she  can  call  on  So- 
prian  Manlius  at  the  Temple,"  and  then  he  had  gone. 

In  the  old  sagas  of  Iceland  and  Scandinavia,  the 
story-teller  had  a  way  of  dismissing  his  characters  one 
by  one  with  a  formal  bow,  and  saying,  "  Now  Gud- 
mund"  (or  Flosi,  or  Skapti,  as  the  case  maybe)  "is  out 
of  this  story,"  and  Gudmtind  never  came  back,  nor  did 
the  reader  need  to  keep  him  in  mind  against  some  un- 


THE  DWELLERS  IN 

expected  turn  of  the  story.  Whether  he  was  dead,  or 
had  gone  to  other  lands,  it  matters  nothing :  he  was 
out  of  the  story.  The  tellers  of  modern  sagas  often 
dismiss  their  characters  with  an  air  of  having  got  well 
rid  of  them,  but  the  sagacious  reader  never  sees  one 
disappear  mysteriously  without  making  a  note  of  it  in 
readiness  for  the  return.  He  out  of  the  story  ?  Not 
at  all,  but  only  lying  in  wait  somewhere  to  spring  back 
just  in  the  nick  of  time.  Nevertheless,  I  hold  to  the 
old  way  as  the  best,  and  with  cheerful  sincerity  declare 
that  now  Mr.  Manlius  is  out  of  this  story,  and  out  of 
it  also  are  his  wife,  Mrs.  Manlius,  and  his  daughters, 
Elizabeth  and  Desire  Manlius.  They  are  all  out  of 
the  story,  and,  like  Dogberry,  I  would  fain  call  the 
rest  of  the  company  together  for  thanksgiving. 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  145 


CHAPTER  X. 

DR.  CROCKER'S  household,  before  the  advent  of 
Miss  Sally  Levering,  had  consisted  of  the  Doctor  him 
self  and  black  Maria,  the  woman  of  all  work.  Maria 
had  lived  so  long  with  her  master,  and  learned  so  per 
fectly  his  few  steps  of  routine,  that  in  her  small,  remote 
way,  she  had  acquired  some  of  the  Doctor's  manner  and 
even  habits.  Her  library  indeed  was  confined  to  a  Bible 
and  hymn-book,  but  she  read  these  in  the  kitchen  with 
something  of  the  steady  gaze  which  Dr.  Checker  cast 
on  his  books  in  the  third  story,  and  her  evenings  were 
quite  exclusively  devoted  to  her  study.  Then  the 
abrupt,  apparently  suspicious  way  of  the  Doctor  was 
repeated  in  her,  and  she  eyed  every  one  of  the  rare 
visitors  at  the  door  with  a  scrutiny  which  was  partly 
indeed  the  result  of  nearsightedness,  but  quite  as  much 
of  a  spiritual  myopia  which  made  it  difficult  for  her  to 
distinguish  objects  outside  of  the  short  range  of  her  daily 
experience.  She  rose  in  the  morning  exactly  half  an 
hour  before  her  master,  who  himself  rose  by  the  alma 
nac,  being  called  every  morning  precisely  at  sunrise, 
which  was  kept  on  record,  so  to  speak,  by  an  alma 
nac,  a  clock,  and  a  candle  which  always  stood  on  a 
bracket  outside  of  his  chamber  door.  It  was  Maria's 
duty  to  visit  this  artificial  sunrise  every  morning,  and 
rap  upon  the  door  precisely  at  the  moment  when  the 
sun  himself  was  supposed  lo  fire  his  light  through  the 
atmosphere.  Then  she  could  calculate  upon  just  time 
enough  to  prepare  the  cup  of  chocolate  which  Dr. 
10 


146  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

Checker  always  took  when  he  entered  his  study.  The 
scale  of  rising  would  have  rendered  the  old  gentleman's 
day  somewhat  irregular,  but  he  carefully  adjusted  the 
corresponding  scale  of  retirement,  appointing  that  so  as 
to  allow  exactly  eight  hours  from  the  time  he  entered 
his  bed  until  the  time  he  rose.  The  lovely  days  of 
June  were  yet  lingering  in  the  west  when  the  old 
scholar  pulled  his  nightcap  over  his  head  and  shut  out 
all  the  beauty,  but  when  the  depth  of  winter  was  come, 
he  could  suffer  his  work  to  carry  him  into  the  dead 
hours  of  the  night.  By  revolving  as  a  lesser  satellite 
about  her  master,  Maria  had  attained  to  a  similar*  ex 
pansion  and  contraction.  She  always  waited  until  her 
master  had  left  his  study  and  gone  to  his  chamber  be 
fore  she  prepared  to  follow,  and  as  she  did  every  night 
the  same  round  of  work,  her  retirement  was  as  punctual 
as  her  rising  ;  though  by  necessity  her  night  was  short 
ened  at  both  ends.  She  hung  a  little  swinging  lamp 
upon  her  wrist  and  then  visited  every  window  and  door 
above  and  below,  to  assure  herself  that  the  house  was 
firmly  closed.  She  put  in  its  place  the  simple  contriv 
ance  by  which  her  master's  chocolate  was  to  be  pre 
pared,  and  looked  out  of  one  window  which  she  passed 
on  her  way  to  her  room,  to  see  what  the  weather  was. 
For  forty  years  Dr.  Checker  and  Maria  had  lived 
here,  he  spinning  his  webs  of  thought  in  his  study  and 
going  up  and  down  the  slender  filaments,  she  repeating 
her  regular  cadences  of  movement  up-stairs  and  down 
till  her  whole  life  seemed  but  one  tune,  and  that  played 
with  endless  iteration  by  one  finger.  There  were  few 
visitors  at  the  Doctor's  house,  and  those  that  came  usu 
ally  came  by  appointment,  and  Maria  was  always  duly 
informed  at  breakfast  just  what  was  expected  in  the 
way  of  change  during  the  day,  so  that  she  might  ad 
just  her  personal  machinery  to  what  might  otherwise 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  147 

derange  her.  Those  who  came,  without  previous  invi 
tation  must  have  strenuous  reasons  for  pressing  an  en 
trance  against  the  black  visage  that  confronted  them, 
holding  the  door  ajar  but  a  trifle  and  making  a  parley 
with  the  enemy  before  admitting  them.  The  arm}'  of 
peddlers  that  tried  to  enter  this  Ilium,  were  forced  to 
get  out  of  any  clumsy  wooden  horses  they  might  have 
wheeled  up  to  the  door-way  ;  a  vigilance  which  always 
seemed  despotic  held  guard  over  the  entrance,  and  Dr. 
Checker  no  doubt  owed  many  hours,  of  quiet  to  the 
unrelenting  scowl  and  crisp  words  which  were  not  so 
much  Maria's  cruel  nature,  as  her  gradual  absorption 
of  her  master's  characteristics. 

Once,  fifteen  years  before,  there  had  been  a  break  in 
the  monotonous  course  by  the  visit  there  for  three 
months  of  a  widowed  daughter  of  the  old  man,  and 
her  little  girl.  Dr.  Checker's  family  had  consisted  of 
a.  son  and  daughter.  His  wife  had  died  when  they 
were  young,  and  he  had  sent  them  to  his  wife's  sister 
in  Kingston  to  care  for  them.  He  himself,  uncom 
fortably  conscious  of  the  slight  domesticity  of  his  nat 
ure  and  absorbed  in  his  study,  had  determined  that  to 
keep  them  by  him  would  be  only  to  fritter  away  his 
own  life  and  render  theirs  unhappy.  So  he  sent  them 
into  the  country  and  once  a  year  they  came  to  him  for 
a  day,  Forefathers'  Day  he  chose  from  a  lingering  feel 
ing  of  pride  in  his  ancestry,  and  their  coming  so  un 
settled  his  life  that  it  was  almost  with  a  sense  of  relief 
that  he  learned  at  length  of  his  son's  death.  Then  the 
daughter  came  alone,  and  sat  quietly  reading  in  the 
dark  parlor,  trying  not  to  disturb  her  father,  whom  she 
invested  with  a  singular  sanctity,  worshiping  at  a  dis 
tance,  yet  longing  to  come  near.  The  day  came,  when 
in  the  quiet  of  the  country  she  found  another  man 
made  of  a  different  mould  from  that  in  which  her 


148  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

father  was  cast,  a  sunny-tempered,  vigorous  man  of 
action,  Richard  Lovering,  and  all  her  romance  went 
out  to  her  new  cceur  de  lion.  They  went  once  to  her 
father.  But  Dr.  Checker  could  not  stand  the  sharp  light 
of  the  young  man  ;  his  heartiness  and  keen  interest  in 
affairs  were  constantly  turning  a  "bull's  eye"  upon  his 
life,  and  the  old  man  was  irritated  by  the  sense  of 
seeming  to  the  young  man  only  a  visionary  book-worm. 
He  was  offensively  abrupt,  and  his  daughter,  with  a 
woman's  instinct,  after  interposing  be.tweeu  them  to 
shield  each  from  the  attack  of  the  other's  nature,  with 
drew  her  husband,  and  the  two  men  did  not  again 
meet.  She  gave  her  husband  her  hearty  admiration 
and  love,  but  a  faint  taper  always  glimmered  before  the 
picture  of  her  father  in  her  memory. 

When  Richard  Lovering  died,  leaving  his  widow 
with  a  little  girl  of  five,  the  daughter  once  more  sought 
her  father.  He  felt  a  touch  of  remorse  when  he  saw 
her,  as  if  he  had  done  some  injustice  to  the  dead,  and 
suddenly  offered  her  and  her  child  a  home.  They 
came  and  stayed  three  months.  Sally  did  not  fear  her 
grandfather,  as  her  mother  did,  but  went  boldly  into 
his  sanctuary,  sat  down  gravely  before  his  books  and 
alternately  read  what  she  pleased,  and  then  turned  her 
storehouses  of  knowledge  into  more  practical  use  as 
blocks  for  building  houses.  She  prattled  to  her  grand 
father  and  told  him  stories,  when  he  could  tell  her 
none,  and  penetrated  black  Maria's  domains,  sitting  in 
state  in  a  high  chair  and  superintending  Maria's  cook 
ing,  occasionally  helping  by  being  taster,  sometimes 
even  experimenting  herself.  She  had  perfect  frank 
ness  and  glee,  and  her  merry  voice  was  heard  every 
where  about  the  house.  At  first  her  mother  tried  to 
check  her,  but  she  could  not  transfer  her  own  thought 
of  her  father  to  the  child,  and  quickly  discovered  that 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  149 

Sally  had  won  in  a  few  days,  what  she  all  her  life  had 
only  seen  as  a  mirage.  Dr.  Chocker  was  weary  when 
they  came,  though  he  scarcely  knew  it,  and  the  child 
was  elixir  to  him.  But  the  native  freshness  and  wild 
wood  life  of  the  child  were  fast  being  exhausted  in  the 
close  air  of  the  house.  She  began  to  droop  and  look 
wistful,  and  once  more  the  Doctor  was  left  to  himself 
and  his  books,  while  the  mother  and  child  went  back 
to  their  country  home.  There  Sally  had  ever  since 
lived,  having  the  memory  of  her  city  life  as  some 
distant  scene  which  was  covered  with  a  faint  haze. 
Dr.  Chocker  did  not  invite  them  again  to  his  home. 
Though  he  longed  to  see  the  child,  he  steeled  himself 
against  the  thought  of  her,  or  postponed  his  invitation 
from  time  to  time,  always  expecting  the  day,  which 
never  came,  when  he  should  have  completed  a  task 
that  would  allow  him  the  leisure  which  he  pretended  to 
believe  was  necessary  before  he  could  again  have  vis 
itors.  Then  as  the  child  grew,  the  old  gentleman  came 
to  present  her  to  himself  as  an  awkward,  angular  girl, 
arid  he  persuaded  himself  that  he  would  rather  remem 
ber  the  merry  innocent  who  fearlessly  invaded  his 
sanctuary,  than  make  fresh  acquaintance  with  a  shy  or 
noisy  girl  who  had  lost  the  bloom  of  innocence  and  would 
always  be  on  her  guard  with  him.  He  had  letters  now 
and  then  from  his  daughter  ;  then  came  a  broken  little 
letter  of  patched  up  sentences  from  Sally,  written  in  a 
very  straight,  up  and  down  hand,  to  her  dear  grand 
father  telling  of  her  mother's  death,  and  that  she  was 
living  with  her  aunts  Miriam  and  Rebecca.  The  Doctor 

o 

had  never  seen  these  ladies,  maiden  sisters  of  his  son- 
in-law,  and  they,  less  from  what  they  had  heard  than 
from  what  they  had  not  heard,  looked  with  no  great  ar 
dor  upon  their  niece's  grandfather.  He  wrote  a  short 
note  in  lead  pencil  to  Sally,  abrupt  and  with  all  its 


150  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

affection  jerked  into  a  postscript  in  the  corner :  "  When 
your  aunts  want  you  to  come  to  the  city,  come  to  me." 
Sally  put  the  note  away  with  her  special  possessions, 
and  her  grandfather  hid  her  letter  in  his  desk.  The 
young  girl  grew  in  her  country  home,  and  with  her 
growth  there  came  wishes  and  dreams  which  the  coun 
try  failed  to  satisfy.  Her  aunts  saw  this.  They  had 
put  off  the  evil  day  when  she  must  fly  from  her  nest, 
by  giving  her  those  higher  pleasures  which  render  one 
independent.  They  had  given  her  music  and  had  found 
a  drawing-master  for  her,  and  her  music  and  drawing 
had  been  the  channels  into  which  her  ambition  and 
eagerness  had  run  ;  but  they  brought  her  also  new  de 
sires,  and  sometimes  when  the  keys  of  her  piano-forte 
sounded  back  the  little  black  symbols  of  the  music 
page,  she  was  thrilled  with  emotion  at  the  thought  of 
what  music  must  be  in  the  great  harmony  of  an  or 
chestra.  Engravings  and  photographs  were  but  re 
minders  of  what  she  seemed  once  to  have  seen  of  art 
that  bore  the  master's  own  touch,  and  while  the  sweet 
country  about  her  was  an  unfailing  source  of  strength 
and  joy,  the  distant  whir  of  the  locomotive  sometimes 
surprised  her  into  a  passionate  desire  to'see  the  cities 
which  somehow  seemed  to  possess  literature  and  his 
tory.  Her  aunts  trained  her  in  the  ways  of  the 
church,  and  she  entered  heartily  into  the  devotional  life 
of  the  decorous  but  not  over  active  body  of  worship 
ers;  yet  sometimes  there  she  caught  herself  repeating 
in  a  whisper  certain  lines  whiqh  always  seemed  to  swell 
into  a  domed  church  in  her  imagination  :  — 

"  'T  was  on  a  Holy  Thursday,  their  innocent  faces  clean, 
Came  children,  walking  two  and  two,  in  red.  and  blue,  and  green  : 
Oray-headed  beadles  walked  before,  with  wands  as  white  as  snow, 
Till  into  the  high  dome  of  Paul's,  they  like  Thames'  waters  flow. 

The  hum  of  multitudes  was  there,  but  multitudes  of  lambs, 
Thousands  of  little  boys  and  girls  raising  their  innocent  hands." 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  151 

It  is  true  she  was  wise  enough  to  know  that  no  lofty 
cathedral  gathered  the  worship  of  the  near  city,  yet 
she  felt  a  strong  desire  to  realize  in  more  positive  form 
some  of  those  glowing  pictures  of  human  worship 
which  are  half  in  the  poet's  mind  and  half  in  a  young 
girl's  imagination. 

Her  aunts  watched  the  reveries  that  passed  in  Sally's 
mind  and  betrayed  themselves  unconsciously  to  her  in 
little  ways.  It  was  plain  that  she  was  already  partly 
away  from  them,  and  so,  as  Dr.  Checker  had  let  the 
homesick  little  girl  go  back  to  the  country,  her  aunts 
now,  with  many  misgivings  but  with  some  insight  into, 
their  niece's  thought,  prepared  to  let  her  go  to  the  city. 
Miss  Miriam  Lovering  addressed  a  letter  to  Dr. 
Chocker  just  after  Christmas,  which  brought  back  one 
of  his  pencil  notes  bidding  her  send  his  granddaughter 
to  him. 

"  If  she  can  be  content  with  an  old  man  like  me, 
she  can  come,  but  I  am  very  busy  myself,  among  my 
books,  and  she  will  lead  a  still  life  for  a  young  girl." 
So  his  letter  read. 

"The  Doctor  is  growing  old, Miriam,"  said  her  sister, 
when  she  had  read  the  letter.  "  His  handwriting 
trembles,  and  I  think  there  is  a  touch  more  of  gentle 
ness  in  his  manner.  After  all,  it  may  be  that  Sally 
can  carry  him  comfort.  Her  mother  would  have  gone 
now,  I  think,  if  she  had  seen  this  writing.  But  he 
never  felt  toward  her  as  he  should." 

"  The  Doctor  must  be  nearly  eighty,  Rebecca.  I 
think  I  should  like  to  see  Sally  again  when  I  am 
eighty."  Miss  Lovering  rarely  gave  way  to  much  feel 
ing.  A  decorous  self-restraint  had  been  the  law  of  her 
life,  but  there  were  times  like  this,  when  it  was  neces 
sary  to  poke  the  fire  vigorously,  with  her  back  to  any 
one  else  who  might  be  in  the  room. 


152  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

The  visit  was  to  last  until  the  warm  weather  came, 
when  the  country  would  be  the  most  desirable  place. 
Sally  had  only  a  childish  recollection  of  her  grand 
father  and  his  surroundings,  and  it  was  a  little  difficult 
for  her  to  repress  a  smile  at  her  own  enthusiasm  as  her 
prudent  judgment  interposed  a  picture  of  herself,  sit 
ting  demurely  at  her  grandfather's  table  in  a  little 
house  in  a  dingy  court,  rarely  going  out,  but  calling  all 
this,  visiting  in  the  city.  Her  aunts  waited  until  the 
opportunity  was  presented  of  their  clergyman  going  to 
the  city,  when  their  niece  was  placed  in  his  charge  and 
deposited  safely  at  the  grandfather's  house  in  Five- 
Sister'^  Court. 

There  we  find  her  now,  reinstated  in  her  old  author 
ity,  her  prudence  and  her  memory  and  imagination  all 
justified  by  a  condition  of  things  which  answered  the 
picture  drawn  by  each- when  modified  properly  by  the 
others.  She  looked  with  an  amused,  interested  air  on 
her  grandfather's  pursuits,  and  since  her  own  training 
had  been  intellectual,  as  well  as  aesthetical,  she  gave 
him  that  respect  and  admiration  which  his  evident 
learning  called  for.  Thus  her  old  fearless  affection 
caught  her  mother's  reverence,  while  her  more  intelli 
gent  admiration  kept  it  still  unembarrassed.  She  had 
her  own  amusements  and  occupations,  and  as  visitors 
were  almost  unknown,  she  had  gradually  taken  posses 
sion  of  the  disused  parlor  and  let  in  not  only  the  outer 
sunshine,  but  such  reflections  from  her  own  good  tem 
per  and  good  taste  as  seemed  to  follow  naturally  upon 
her  living  in  it.  She  went  to  her  grandfather  when 
she  would,  but  soon  learned  to  know  when  he  was  most 
ready  to  welcome  her.  She  put  herself  under  Ma 
ria's  direction  and  professed  to  learn  her  ways,  when 
all  the  while  she  was  making  such  little  changes 
in  the  manage  as  would  have  produced  a  revolution 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  153 

had  they  been  boldly  incorporated  in  a  bill  of  rights. 
She  had  her  music,  her  strolls  among  the  shops  and 
libraries,  her  afternoon  concerts,  and  her  calls  upon 
Miss  Fix  and  Mrs.  Blake.  She  went  each  Sunday  to 
church,  and  somehow,  finding  no  dome  large  enough  to 
cover  her  religious  imagination,  she  was  more  than- 
content  with  a  modest  sanctuary,  which  had  for  its 
greatest  charm  that  it  was  most  like  her  old  church 
home  in  the  country. 

Dr.  Chocker  received  these  introductions  of  light 
into  his  dwelling  with  some  uneasiness  at  first,  but  find 
ing  his  granddaughter  apparently  unsuspicious  that  she 
was  engaged  upon  any  disturbance  of  his  peace,  .he 
gradually  abandoned  his  own  watch  of  her,  and  dropped 
into  the  new  current  of  life  with  a  half  feeling  of  the 
warmer  temperature  which  it  bore.  Little  by  little, 
the  girl  who  had  so  quietly  entered  his  castle  became 
the  mistress  of  it,  and  he  was  uneasy  when  she  was  not 
at  hand.  He  heard  the  door  open  and  knew  she  had 
come  home,  and  that  was  enough.  He  had  no  particu 
lar  desire  to  see  her,  nothing  in  special  to  say  to  her, 
but  her  coming  restored  the  regular  movement  of  his 
life  which  was  partially  arrested  when  she  was  away 
from  him.  Their  talks  at  the  table  were  strange  snares 
to  the  old  gentleman.  Sally,  with  her  reminiscences  of 
concert,  or  picture-gallery,  or  church,  was  to  him  a  sort 
of  magpie,  displaying  bits  of  colored  glass  and  ribbon,  of 
no  mortal  use  except  to  delight  a  magpie's  eye.  She 
chatted  of  these  things  because  her  young  head  was  full 
of  them,  and  he  threw  in  his  curt  observations  as  one 
would  shake  a  kaleidoscope  to  see  what  new  figures 
the  jostling  would  bring  out.  But  the  talk  made  havoc 
with  Dr.  Checker's  time-table,  which  had  not  been  so 
carefully  adjusted  all  these  years  to  submit  easily  to 
these  infringements  upon  it ;  and  Maria  used  once  in  a 


154  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

while  to  wonder  why  it  was  that  though  breakfast  was 
so  much  longer  than  formerly  she  yet  was  able  to  get 
through  her  work  as  usual. 

At  the  breakfast  table,  the  morning  after  the  retreat 
of  Mr.  Manlius  and  his  family  from  the  court  and  this 
story,  Miss  Levering  had  her  mind  quite  full  of  the 
event.  She  sat  at  table  by  the  side  of  her  grandfather 
for  greater  ease  in  conversation,  so  that  one  coming 
into  the  room  would  have  fancied  they  formed  the  res 
idue  of  some  greater  company  that  had  gradually  dis 
appeared,  leaving  two  extremes  of  a  circle  together. 

"  Yes,  he  is  actually  gone,  grandfather,"  she  said, 
"and  I  wonder  who  now  will  take  his  house.  I  think  I 
should  like  a  family  with  very,  very  small  children." 

"What  is  the  least  size  that  will  answer?"  asked 
Dr.  Checker. 

"  Well,  I  never  saw  any  children  quite  small  enough 
to  suit  me,"  she  replied.  "  I  should  like  to  see  a  child 
beginning  very  far  back,  small  enough,  for  instance,  to 
be  carried  about  in  a  work-basket." 

"  It  would  probably  grow  to  the  size  of  Mr.  Man 
lius,"  said  the  Doctor,  sagaciously.  "  There  's  too  much 
virtue  in  that  house.  I  'd  like  to  see  it  shut  up  for  a 
while." 

"I  wish  Mr.  Windgraff  would  take  it,"  said  Sally, 
who  was  busy  in  her  mind  arranging  matters  to  suit 
her.  "  He  would  be  an  excellent  neighbor,  and  he 
does  play  delightfully.  I  think  he  's  splendid." 

"  Who  's  Mr.  Windgraff  ?  "  asked  Dr.  Chocker,  in 
sudden  alarm. 

"  Why,  he  's  one  of  Miss  Fix's  friends.  He  was  at 
Mrs.  Blake's  that  evening,  and  he  played  with  Miss 
Fix  afterward." 

"  Oh,  that  one.  Well,  has  he  little  children  small 
enough  to  carry  round  in  a  work-basket  ?  " 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  155 

"Oh,  no,"  said  Sally.  "He's  not  married.  He's 
only  wedded  to  his  violin,  as  they  say  in  books." 

"That's  the  safest  kind,"  said  Dr.  Checker,  sagely. 
"  Then  the  risk 's  all  on  one  side.  You  want  more 
neighbors,  eh,  Sally  ?  You  're  lonely  here  ; "  and  the 
old  gentleman  put  his  cup  down  and  looked  wistfully 
at  her. 

"  Not  a  bit,  grandpa.  You  know  I  've  always  lived  . 
in  the  country,  and  have  seen  very  few  people.  It  is 
like  a  play  to  watch  the  people  in  the  streets.  I  make 
up  stories  about  them  to  myself,  and  if  they  're  not 
true  I  don't  know  it  at  any  rate.  Oh,  I  am  not  in  the 
least  lonely.  I  don't  see  how  one  can  be,  in  the  city." 

"  Should  n't  you  think  I  'd  be  lonely  ? "  asked  the 
Doctor,  looking  narrowly  at  his  granddaughter,  "  living 
here  so  long,  with  my  books,  and  Maria,  —  till  you 
came,"  he  added,  hesitating. 

"  Why,  I  suppose  books  are  people  to  you,  and  you 
make  up  stories  out  of  them  to  please  yourself.  And 
then,  besides,  you  and  I  have  no  right  to  talk  about 
being  lonely,  when  we  have  each  other." 

"  We  're  getting  sentimental,  Sally,"  said  the  Doctor, 
rising.  "  That  won't  do  for  you  and  me,"  and  he 
shuffled  off  to  his  study.  It  was  a  bright  morning, 
early  in  March,  and  perhaps  the  mention  of  the  coun 
try  combined  with  some  subtle  invitation  in  the  air  to 
give  Miss  Levering  a  sudden  impulse  to  get  away  for 
a  while  from  the  streets  of  the  city.  The  city  is  after 
all  but  a  great  house.  One  talks  of  going  out  of  doors, 
but  it  is  only  to  go  into  a  little  more  open  passage-way 
where  there  is  a  stronger  draught,  if  one  merely  steps 
into  the  street.  One  is  not  fairly  out  of  doors  until 
the  blocks  of  houses  and  the  busy  streets  have  been 
left  behind,  and  one  comes  into  sight  of  water  and  hills 
and  woods.  The  air  was  sparkling  with  just  a  touch 


156  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

of  frostiuess ;  the  sun  was  not  high  enough  yet  to 
have  penetrated  very  far  into  the  heart  of-  things,  and 
a  bright  light  seemed  -to  cover  everything.  The  girl 
took  her  way  as  quickly  as  possible  to  a  causeway 
which  led  by  the  river  directly  out  of  the  city.  Houses 
were  creeping  down  the  street  which  ended  in  the 
causeway,  and  the  neighboring  district  was  rapidly 
changing  from  a  condition  of  mud  and  brackish  water 
and  salt-marsh,  into  one  of  solid  desert  formed  by  the 
loads  of  gravel  which  rumbled  day  and  night  thither. 
But  the  passage  from  city  to  country  was  more  abrupt 
this  way  than  any  other,  and  in  less  than  half  an  hour 
the  rapid  walker  found  herself  passing  trees  and  fields, 
and  on  her  way  to  a  high  hill  from  which  she  knew  a 
wide  view  could  be  had.  There  had  been  a  fall  of 
snow  the  night  before,  but  it  had  dropped  so  lightly, 
and  without  any  wind  stirring,  that  it  seemed  now  as  if 
a  breath  would  puff  it  all  away.  The  fields,  the  marsh 
meadows  with  their  stiff  dry  stalks  of  grass,  like  hair 
always  alternating  between  a  languid  moisture  and  a 
bristling  dryness,  were  covered  with  a  light  film  of  snow. 
The  fir-trees  and  the  leafless  walnuts  and  chestnuts  and 
elms  blossomed  with  it ;  or  rather  it  was  as  if  in  a 
night  they  had  all  put  forth  some  wonderful  winter 
foliage,  that  smiled  in  the  sun  and  took  on  the  most 
delicious  hues.  It  was  an  arctic  dream  of  summer. 

When  Miss  Levering  had  climbed  the  high  hill  which 
was  the  goal  of  her  walk,  the  view  in  all  directions  was 
brilliant  in  the  extreme.  She  was  too  far  away  from  the 
streets  of  the  city  and  the  country  roads  to  see  that  the 
snow  was  melting  fast  and  losing  its  crisp  beauty,  and 
the  white  veil  that  was  thrown  over  everything  gave 
an  exceeding  beauty  to  the  landscape.  The  river 
sparkled,  the  bright  points  of  city  towers  and  spires 
and  domes  caught  the  light  and  tossed  it  off,  while  be- 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  157 

hind  her,  the  wooded  hills  and  quiet  country  rolled 
away  in  soft  undulations.  She  brushed  the  light  snow 
off  a  rock  upon  the  loose  stone  wall  that  rambled  up 
the  hill,  and  sat  down  in  a  little  nook  to  enjoy  to  the 
full  the  prospect  before  her.  The  city  stretching  out 
its  bridges  and  causeway  and  long  lines  of  houses, 
seemed  like  some  huge  insect  that  was  feeling  about 
with  its  antennae.  She  saw  patches  of  woods  between 
her  and  the  city,  with  substantial  houses  looking  out 
from  the  inclosures,  and  began  after  her  wont  to  im 
agine  the  cosy  life  of  the  dwellers  in  these  half  rural, 
half  city  domains. 

The  road  by  which  she  had  come  crossed  the  hill, 
descending  the  other  declivity,  and  three  or  four  plain 
houses  were  scattered  along  it.  One,  especially,  with  a 
magnificent  view,  could  be  seen  from  a  great  distance, 
and  its  commonplace  character  seemed  magnified  into 
blank  ugliness;  near  by,  it  looked  no  worse  than  a 
multitude  of  every-day  houses.  It  was  its  conspicu- 
ousness  that  made  its  dullness  so  offensive.  In  the 
winter  time  few  people,  other  than  the  occupants  of  the 
houses,  traveled  this  road  ;  in  summer  time,  especially 
Sunday  evenings,  small  companies  toiled  up  the  hill  for 
the  view,  and  carriages  went  up  by  slow  degrees. 

The  hill  was  not  bisected  by  any  road  crossing  at 
right  angles,  so  that  Miss  Lovering,  sitting  on  the  stone 
wall  with  her  feet  drawn  up  and  resting  on  a  project 
ing  stone,  was  taken  by  surprise  as  she  heard  a  crunch 
ing  sound  behind  her  and  knew  that  some  one  was 
crossing  the  field  which  fell  rapidly  to  a  lower,  parallel 
road.  She  was  about  to  get  down  from  her  perch  when 
the  intruder  at  the  same  moment  reached  the  wall  a 
little  below  where  she  sat  and  jumped  over  it  into  the 
road.  She  was  partly  sheltered  by  the  trunk  of  a 
tree  and  she  drew  back,  thinking  to  escape  observation, 


158  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

when  the  steps  moved  up  the  road.  The  young  man 
who  had  disturbed  her  peace  cast  a  side  glance  as  he 
went  by,  and  she  saw  to  her  surprise  that  it  was  her 
neighbor,  Nicholas  Judge.  She  recognized  him  with  a 
hurried  bow,  a  trifle  disconcerted  at  the  encounter,  and 
he,  returning  it,  made  as  if  he  would  pass  on,  and  then 
suddenly  turned  back  and  went  to  her.  She  got  down 
from  her  perch  and  came  out  into  the  road. 

"I  thought  I  could  not  be  mistaken,"  said  he.  "I 
was  quite  sure  it  was  you  when  I  was  coming  up  the 
hill."  He  stammered  his  words  somewhat,  as  if  he  had 
been  guilty  of  making  observations  behind  her  back. 

"  Yes,  it  is  I,"  said  she,  composedly,  when  he  seemed 
to  have  finished. 

"  Did  you  know  that  you  could  see  Round  Top  from 
that  hill  yonder?"  he  asked,  suddenly.  "I  have  just 
been  over  there." 

"  Indeed.     I  have  never  been  there." 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  scarcely  noticing  her  indifference. 
"  You  can  see  it  quite  plainly.  I  often  go  there  when 
I  —  I  want  to  see  Kingston."  Miss  Lovering  was  tap 
ping  with  her  foot  on  the  ground  and  looking  off  upon 
the  city  ;  his  sentence  seemed  somehow  to  drop  into  a 
different  ending  from  what  was  forecast. 

"I  like  this  view  very  much,"  said  his  companion. 
"There  is  so  much  life  in  it.  I  am  never  tired  of  watch 
ing  the  city,  especially  in  winter  time  ;  though  to  be 
sure,"  she  added,  hastily,  "  I  never  saw  the  city  in  the 
summer." 

"  Nor  I,"  said  Nicholas, "  and  I  hope  I  never  shall." 

"I  do  not  believe  it  ever  could  look  uninteresting," 
she  replied,  "  and  from  this  hill,  it  might  look  very 
cool." 

"You  were  quite  a  young  girl  when  you  were  here 
before,  were  n't  you  ?  "  asked  Nicholas.  "  I  remember 
when  you  came  back  to  Kingston." 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  159 

"  Yes,"  she  said.  "  What  is  that  high  building  that 
stands  by  itself  in  that  direction,"  pointing  as  she  spoke. 

"  That  is  a  grain  elevator,"  said  he.  "  It  is  used  for 
storing  grain.  Have  you  been  at  the  top  of  the  hill, 
Miss  Lovering  ?  I  was  just  on  my  way,  and  I  can 
show  you  some  fine  views  of  the  other  side." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  she.  "  I  have  gone  as  far  as 
it  is  quite  wise  for  me  to  go,  and  I  think  I  must  bid 
you  good-morning."  Nicholas  returned  her  bow  and 
walked  rapidly  up  the  hill,  while  she  turned  away  and 
hastened  down.  Miss  Lovering's  walk  home  was  not 
marked  by  the  exhilaration  which  she  felt  on  the  out 
ward  course.  She  was  annoyed  by  her  recollection  of 
the  slight  talk.  He  was  so  awkward.  "  I  was  awk 
ward  myself,"  she  cried  in  her  mind,  "  because  he  made 
me.  Why  did  he  talk  so  familiarly  to  me  ?  he  spoke 
as  if  we  had  been  old  friends  in  Kingston.  I  am  sure 
I  did  not  come  here  to  see  him."  There  was  vexation 
in  her  mind  at  the  encounter,  and  her  thoughts  natu 
rally  turned  to  her  home  in  Kingston.  She  had  seen 
Nicholas  there,  but  never  to  know  him.  There  had 
always  been  a  village  mystery  about  him  and  his 
father,  and  although  the  painful  death  of  Silas  King's 
sister  had  been  traced  to  her  own  curiosity  and  reck 
lessness,  it  left  an  unpleasant  smoke  about  the  lonely 
house  and  the  old  man  and  his  taciturn  son.  She  had 
seen  the  boy  at  church,  and  her  aunts  had  spoken  with 
him  now  and  then,  but  for  herself  she  had  never  ex 
changed  any  words  with  him,  and  it  was  with  an  unde 
fined  sense  of  annoyance  that>  she  had  discovered  im 
mediately  upon  her  arrival  at  her  grandfather's  house, 
that  the  young  man  was  a  near  neighbor  and  rested 
under  a  new  cloud.  Although  she  had  seen  that  dis 
sipated,  it  was  quite  impossible  for  her  to  look  upon 
him  other  than  as  an  uncertain  sort  of  person  who  be- 


160  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

longed  nowhere  and  with  whom  she  could  have  little 
in  common.  It  had  been,  indeed,  something  of  a  trial 
to  her  to  find  that  Mrs.  Blake,  whom  she  had  kept  in 
her  memory  for  many  years,  and  whose  acquaintance 
she  had  gladly  renewed,  was  the  aunt  of  this  young 
Judge  and  had  given  him  a  home.  She  rarely  met  the 
nephew,  however,  when  she  visited  Mrs.  Blake.  Once 
or  twice  he  had  been  jn  his  aunt's  room,  when  she  had 
entered  somewhat  unceremoniously,  and  he  never 
seemed  then  to  have  the  same  awkwardness  and 
stumbling  manner  with  which  he  greeted  her,  when  he 
met  her  casually  in  the  passages  or  in  the  court. 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  161 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  snow  had  been  melting  rapidly,  and  when  Miss 
Levering  reached  the  city  again,  the  general  sloppiuess 
of  the  streets  rendered  walking  anything  but  agreeable, 
so  that  she  found  herself  again,  in  Five-Sisters  Court, 
fatigued  and  dispirited.  Maria  opened  the  door  for 
her  and  handed  her  a  note. 

"  Miss  Fix  left  this,"  she  said,  "  she  was  mortal 
sorry  not  to  see  you.  She  came  twice,  and  the  second 
time  she  brought  this."  It  was  a  note  inclosing  a 
ticket  to  an  afternoon  concert,  which  Miss  Pix  also 
hoped  to  attend,  but  as  she  had  engagements  up  to  the 
moment  of  the  concert,  she  must  leave  Miss  Sally  to 
go  alone.  The  note  and  ticket  were  enough  at  once  to 
restore  the  young  lady's  equanimity,  and  at  dinner 
time  she  gave  an  animated  account  to  her  grandfather 
of  the  walk  she  had  taken,  omitting  in  her  narrative 
all  that  was  disagreeable,  and  consequently  failing  to 
report  the  interruption  she  had  suffered. 

The  concert  was  in  the  great  hall  of  the  city,  a  hall 
which  from  its  size  and  associations  gave  perhaps  the 
most  complete  satisfaction  to  Miss  Lovering  as  an  em 
bodiment  of  her  desires  for  city  life.  She  had  never 
been  to  the  theatre,  she  had  never  beheld  the  musical 
pageant  of  the  opera,  and  I  am  not  sure  that  she  would 
have  yielded  with  sufficient  abandon  to  the  fascination 
either  of  the  play  or  of  the  opera.  But  the  symphony 
was  to  her  the  perfection  of  art,  and  to  find  what  she 
11 


162  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

had  studied  at  her  piano-forte,  brought  out  with  all 
the  multitudinous  wealth  of  the  orchestra,  was  to  enter 
into  the  fullest  possession  of  what  music  could  give 
her. 

The  hall  itself,  to  her  who  had  seen  no  complex  ar 
chitectural  structures,  was  impressive  and  in  harmony 
with  the  music  which  she  heard  there.  Its  fine  pro 
portions,  its  simplicity  of  lines,  its  orderly  arrangement, 
so  that  when  empty  there  was  nevertheless  a  certain  in 
dividuality  about  the  seats,  that  made  them  look  like 
silent  listeners  to  unplayed  music,  all  combined  to  make 
it  her  favorite  haunt.  The  hall  was  not  without  its 
mystery ;  a  dark  passage  beneath  the  gallery  in  the 
rear,  by  which  persons  crossed  the  hall  out  of  sight, 
was  entered  and  explored  with  a  suspicious  feeling  lest 
unknown  peril  might  be  lurking  there.  Her  only  crit 
icism  was  upon  the  metallic  screen  which  covered  the 
wall  back  of  the  orchestra.  It  always  seemed  a  pity 
to  her  that  when  hearing  great  music  her  eye  could  not 
rest  on  some  more  majestic  form. 

This  afternoon  she  was  in  her  seat  early,  watching 
the  audience  as  it  gathered,  and  catching  now  and  then 
the  distant  sound  of  the  tuning  of  instruments  behind 
the  stage.  The  programme  was  made  up  mainly  of 
music  to  be  given  by  the  entire  orchestra,  but  the  great 
attraction  of  the  afternoon  to  most  was  the  promise  of 
some  solos  on  the  violin  by  one  who  was  held  by  many 
to  be  the  greatest  of  living  violinists,  and  was  then  in 
the  country. 

As  the  orchestra  came  in,  Miss  Lovering  looked  at 
once  for  Mr.  Windgraff.  There  was  a  pleasure  in  dis 
covering  a  friend  in  the  orchestra.  She  already  knew, 
with  his  assistance,  the  names  of  several  of  the  musi 
cians,  and  Mr.  Pfeiffer,  Mr.  Schmauker,  and  Mr.  Pfeffen- 
dorf  she  had  met  once  at  Miss  Pix's ;  but  Mr.  Wind- 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  163 

graff  was  a  friend,  and  when  now  he  turned  his  eyes  to 
where  she  sat  and  bowed  with  a  blush,  she  was  thrown 
into  a  little  flutter  of  excitement.  Miss  Pix  had  not 
yet  come  and  her  seat  awaited  her.  As  the  music  be 
gan,  however,  Miss  Lovering  gave  herself  up  to  it  after 
a  sigh  of  regret  for  her  companion's  absence,  and  en 
tered  upon  a  gentle  succession  of  fancies  which  familiar 
music  always  excited  in  her.  She  had  heard  the  over 
ture  and  the  symphony  which  followed,  and  had  more 
over  practiced  them  both  on  her  piano,  so  that  she  needed 
not  to  strain  her  attention,  but  as  each  phrase  followed 
the  last,  her  mind  seemed  to  run  before  just  far  enough 
to  receive  and  welcome  it  as  an  old  friend. 

The  violin  solo  followed,  and  Miss  Lovering  looked 
with  delight  as  the  master  stood  there  with  that  smile, 
that  graceful  bearing,  that  strange  air  which  seemed 
to  separate  him  from  other  men  and  to  place  him  by 
himself,  as  a  charmer,  whom  to  see  and  hear  was  to  ac 
knowledge  as  having  a  fascination  which  was  not  all 
in  his  music  nor  all  in  his  bearing,  but  an  effluence 
from  his  whole  personality.  She  could  think  of  nothing 
but  Orpheus,  and  was  almost  ready  to  obey  the  invita 
tion  which  seemed  to  lie  in  the  music,  and  to  follow  its 
sounds  whithersoever  they  might  lead  her.  There  was, 
besides,  about  the  music  a  certain  homeliness,  as  if  the 
violinist  had  little  in  common  with  professional  musi 
cians,  and  drew  his  music  from  themes  which  could  not 
be  handled  by  an  orchestra,  but  were  adapted  solely  to 
the  apparent  improvisation  of  one  who  with  his  violin 
bad  drawn  a  charmed  circle,  and  within  that  was  dis 
coursing  from  his  soul  through  his  sympathetic  instru 
ment.  All  this  passed  with  more  or  less  distinctness  in 
the  young  girl's  mind  as  she  came  out  of  the  trance  and 
listened  abstractedly  to  the  music  which  succeeded  the 
solo. 


164  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

There  was  an  intermission  between  the  two  parts  of 
the  concert,  and  as  she  was  wondering  why  Miss  Fix 
did  not  appear,  and  looking  about  the  near  audience, 
she  saw  Mr.  Windgraff  coming  up  the  aisle  to  her 
seat. 

"  Ah,  Mr.  Windgraff,"  said  she,  "  where  is  Miss 
Fix?" 

"  So  was  I  about  to  ask  you,"  said  that  gentleman. 

"  She  was  to  be  here ;  this  is  her  seat.  Oh,  why  was 
she  not  here  to  hear  that  violin." 

"  Is  it  the  violin,"  he  asked,  "  or  is  it  the  violinist  ?  " 

"  There  is  neither  violin  nor  violinist  to  me,"  she 
said,  "  but  it  is  all  melted  into  one." 

"  Very  good,"  said  Mr.  Windgraff.  "  You  have  said 
it  well.  And  why  is  it  that  it  is  no  different  ?  I 
heard  that  same  violinist  —  violin  —  you  call  it  — 
twenty  year  ago  and  no  different." 

"  Perhaps  it  is  magic,"  said  a  voice  by  their  side. 
"  Good  afternoon,  Miss  Lovering,  Mr.  Windgraff.  I 
should  be  glad  to  know  the  secret  of  this  man's  power." 
It  was  Le  Clear,  who  had  come  up  to  speak  to  Miss 
Lovering  as  Mr.  Windgraff  also  approached.'  "  Mr. 
Windgraff,  you  know  the  violin  well  ?  what  is  the  se 
cret  of  this  genius  ?  " 

"Tell  me  the  secret  of  any  genius;"said  that  gentle 
man,  senteutiously.  "  Now  I  must  leave  you  two  to 
find  it  out.  You  will  tell  Miss  Fix,  Miss  Loveriug, 
what  she  lost  ?  " 

"  Indeed,  I  cannot  tell  her,"  said  Miss  Lovering,  smil 
ing.  "  She  would  need  hear  it  herself  to  know  !  " 

"  Very  good  again,"  said  the  musician  bowing  pro 
foundly  and  returning  to  his  post. 

"  May  I  keep  Miss  Fix's  seat  for  her  ?  "  asked  Le 
Clear.  Miss  Lovering  made  room  for  him,  and  he  took 
his  seat  beside  her. 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  165 

"  I  suspect,"  said  he,  "  that  part  of  the  secret  lies  in  his 
solitariness.  I  have  heard  him  in  concerts  when  there 
were  other  soloists,  but  though  they  might  have  been 
respectable  elsewhere,  they  seemed  coarse  and  com 
monplace  when  he  played.  He  threw  no  charm  over 
those  who  aided  him.  Indeed,  he  seems  to  me  to 
dwell  in  a  charmed  circle.  I  can  fancy  him  waving 
that  glittering  bow  of  his  and  putting  every  one  else 
aside.  In  that  he  has  always  lived.  He  has  not 
grown  at  all.  You  heard  what  Mr..Windgraff  said. 
He  has  been  playing  for  twenty  years  the  same  airs 
with  the  same  perfection.  The  world  cares  less  for 
him  than  it  once  did.  He  is  his  own  ancestor,  his  own 
posterity.  He  has  advanced  from  nothing,  he  has 
given  birth  to  nothing.  But  when  all  is  said,  how  beau 
tiful  he  remains  !  a  northern  poem  !  " 

"  You  make  me  think  of  Shakspere's  sonnet,"  began 
Miss  Levering ;  but  at  that  moment  the  tap  of  the  con 
ductor's  baton  was  heard  and  the  music  was  resumed. 
Mr.  Le  Clear  remained  in  his  seat,  and  Miss  Fix  did  not 
come  to  claim  it.  Miss  Levering  found  a  special  ex 
hilaration  in  the  second  part  of  the  concert.  Some 
thing  in  the  companionship  she  had,  stimulated  her,  and 
she  found  herself  listening  with  ears  attent,  catching  at 
the  phrases  and  weaving  new  webs  of  thought.  A  few 
words  passed  between  them  during  the  short  intervals, 
and  when  the  concert  was  over,  Miss  Lovering  rose 
with  a  sigh. 

"  I  have  not  enjoyed  a  concert  so  much  for  a  long 
time,"  said  she  ;  "  if  only  Miss  Fix  had  been  here." 
Mr.  Le  Clear  half  concealed  a  smile,  and  she  hastened  to 
add,  a  little  confused,  "  But  I  am  none  the  less  obliged 
to  you.  I  think  I  only  half  hear,  when  alone,  some 
times,"  for  she  remembered,  suddenly,  certain  occasions 
when  it  seemed  as  if  music  could  not  be  shared. 


166  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  Is  walking  alone  only  half  a  walk  ? "  asked  her 
companion.  "  If  so,  I  should  be  glad  to  add  the  other, 
half." 

"  Oh,  I  am  a  very  independent  walker,"  said  she, 
"  But  I  believe  I  can  keep  step."  They  passed  out  of 
the  hall,  and  avoiding  the  street  walked  leisurely  down 
under  the  leafless  boughs  of  the  elms  that  overhung  a 
mall  adjoining. 

"  The  music  struck  up  very  inopportunely  once,"  said 
Le  Clear,  "just  as  I  was  to  hear  which  of  Shakspere's 
sonnets  it  was  th*at  was  in  your  mind." 

"  Oh,  what  you  said  chimed  in  with  lines  that  had 
been  running  in  my  head :  — 

"  From  fairest  creatures  we  desire  increase 
That  thereby  beauty's  rose  might  never  die. 

But  thou,  contracted  to  thine  own  bright  eyes 
Feedst  thy  light  flame  with  self-substantial  fuel, 
Making  a  famine  where  abundance  lies 
Thyself  thy  foe,  to  thy  sweet  self  too  cruel." 

"  I  am  glad,"  he  said,  "  that  there  is  so  much  obscu 
rity  about  the  actual  personal  suggestion  of  Shak 
spere's  sonnets.  Now  we  can  all  make  our  own 
interpretations,  and  no  one  can  pin  us  down  to  un 
mistakable  historic  references." 

"  Still,  I  should  like  to  know,"  said  she.  "  He  must 
have  started  from  some  actual  facts,  and  I  do  not  see 
why  we  should  be  the  worse  off  for  knowing  them." 

"  But  should  we  be  the  better  ?  "  continued  he.  "  Po 
etry,  especially  great  poetry,  has  cut  loose  from  its  im 
mediate  suggestion,  and  has  become  common  property. 
To  take  another  instance,  Spenser's  Faerie  Queene  has 
certain  well  established  historic  foundations,  but  does 
any  one  read  it  with  greater  pleasure  for  seeing  in  it  an 
idealization  of  Queen  Elizabeth  ?  " 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  167 

"  Why,  yes.  I  read  the  poem  for  the  pleasure  it 
gives,  and  then  afterward  I  am  interested  in  tracing 
Spenser's  English  feeling.  I  don't  know  much  about 
it,"  she  added,  laughing,  "  and  I  talk  as  if  I  had  lore. 
Lore  I  think  is  a  fine  word." 

"Yes,"  said  he,  "especially  when  so  pronounced. 
Unless  you  roll  your  r,  I  don't  like  it.  I  would  rather 
enjoy  lore  than  practice  law.  By  the  way,  did  you  ever 
study  metres  much  ?  " 

"  No,  I  learned  prosody." 

"  Well,  I  looked  into  the  matter  once,  and  I  have  a 
theory  about  the  measure  of  the  Faerie  Queene,  the 
Spenserian  stanza  that  is  so  much  admired.  But  here 
we  are  in  this  tortuous  court.  Miss  Levering,  may  I 
have  the  pleasure  of  calling  upon  you  ?  " 

"  Thank  you,  Mr.  Le  Clear.  I  shall  be  happy  to  see 
you,  —  you  may  bring  your  little  theory  with  you,  too,  if 
you  like.  But  I  am  going  first  to  see  Miss  Fix,  to  see 
why  she  was  not  at  the  concert."  Mr.  Le  Clear  bade 
her  good  evening  at  the  door,  and  Miss  Levering  en 
tered  the  little  house.  She  heard  the  notes  of  a  piano, 
and  spied"  Miss  Fix  seated  at  it. 

"  Come  in,  Miss  Sally,"  said  that  lady,  wheeling 
round  on  her  stool.  "  You  see  my  concert  lasts  longer 
than  yours." 

"Oh,  but  why  were  you  not  there,  Miss  Fix.  It  was 
glorious ! " 

"  I  've  not  a  doubt  of  it.  And  how  did  our  young 
friend  like  it?" 

Miss  Lovering  colored  a  little. 

"  Oh,  he  enjoyed  it  very  much,  and  I  found  him  quite 
agreeable.  He  seemed  to  know  all  about  the  music  and 
the  musicians." 

"  Bless  me !  where  has  he  been  hiding  his  knowl 
edge  all  this  time  ?  " 


168  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  But  tell  me,  why  did  you  not  come,'  Miss  Fix  ?  I 
wanted  you  there  ever  so  much." 

"  I  supposed  you  would  guess  the  reason,"  said  she, 
with  a  merry  twinkle.  Miss  Lovering  looked  bewil 
dered  ;  "  or  at  any  rate  that  Nicholas  would  have  set 
your  mind  at  rest  about  my  coming." 

"  Nicholas  ?  Mr.  Judge  ?  Why,  I  have  not  seen  him. 
At  least  I  did  not  see  him  at  the  concert." 

"  Did  not  see  him  ?  why,  he  had  my  ticket.  Did 
you  not  take  the  seat  that  was  numbered  on  your 
ticket  ?  " 

"  Certainly." 

"  "Well,  whom  were  you  speaking  of,  then,  when  you 
said  he  made  himself  agreeable  ?  " 

"  Why,  I  was  speaking  of  Mr.  Le  Clear.  I  won 
dered  that  you  should  ask,  but  presumed  you  saw  us 
from  your  window  just  now.  He  came  and  spoke  to 
me,  during  the  intermission;  and  afterward,  as  you 
were  not  there,  kept  your  seat.  Mr.  Windgraff  came 
down,  too,  and  was  disappointed  at  not  seeing  you." 
Miss  Fix  rubbed  her  nose,  with  an  odd  look  of  discom 
fiture. 

"  I  was  getting  ready  to  go  to  the  concert,  when  I 
ran  in  to  see  Mrs.  Blake  a  moment,  and  there  I  saw 
Master  Nicholas  looking  so  rueful,  that  I  made  up  my 
mind  he  needed  a  tonic  sol  fa,  so  I  gave  him  my  ticket 
for  a  prescription.  I  suppose  he  never  looked  at  the 
number,  but  just  hid  himself  in  the  farthest  corner  of 
the  upper  gallery.  Well,  well  !  I  hope  he  had  the 
grace  to  enjoy  the  music.  There  he  is  now ; "  and 
Miss  Fix  ran  to  the  door  that  connected  her  house 
with  Mrs.  Blake's.  Miss  Lovering  would  very  readily 
have  taken  her  leave,  but  she  had  no  chance  to  say 
good-by  before  her  hostess  returned,  bringing  the  young 
man  with  her. 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  169 

"  Give  an  account  of  yourself,  Master  Nicholas,"  she 
cried.  "  You  are  not  so  obedient  as  Miss  Levering. 
I  had  two  tickets  for  the  concert.  I  give  her  one,  and 
she  takes  it  and  her  seat  dutifully.  I  give  you  the 
other,  and  you  go  off  no  one  knows  where.  I  warrant 
you  followed  the  man  who  lights  the  gas  at  the  top  of 
the  building ;  but  you  don't  look  very  dusty,"  she 
added,  surveying  his  coat  critically.  Nicholas  laughed. 

"  I  should  like  nothing  better  than  to  find  myself  in 
that  mysterious  passage  under  the  eaves.  How  the 
lighter  gets  there  is  a  mystery  to  me.  I  have  thought 
of  bribing  him  to  let  me  take  his  taper  some  afternoon, 
and  touch  off  the  gas  points.  How  diminutive  the 
people  on  the  floor  and  the  orchestra  on  the  stage  must 
look  from  that  height." 

"  I  wonder,"  said  Miss  Lovering,  "  if  he  has  to  crawl, 
or  stoop,  when  he  disappears  at  the  corner  "  — 

"  And  comes  out  again,  like  the  Arethusa,"  said 
Nicholas,  gayly.  "  Yes,  all  those  mysteries  I  should 
settle,  if  I  once  could  find  my  way  up  there.  But 
perhaps  it  will  be  better  to  leave  Yarrow  uuvisited." 

"What  are  you  two  crazy  people  talking  about," 
said  Miss  Fix,  whose  reading  was  of  the  slightest ;  — 
"  Arethusa  ?  Yarrow  ?  Come,  how  did  you  like  the 
concert,  Nicholas ;  and  what  was  the  highest  point  you 
could  get  at  from  which  to  enjoy  it  ?  and  did  it  drive 
out  that  evil  spirit  which  seemed  to  possess  you  ?  " 
Nicholas  colored  a  little,  but  kept  his  eye  fixed  on 
Miss  Pix. 

"  I  found  a  corner  in  the  second  gallery  and  per 
suaded  myself  that  the  music  was  strained  when  it 
reached  me.  Certainly  I  never  heard  any  such  fine 
and  penetrating  sounds  as  came  from  that  violin.  They 
were  so  liquid  that  I  fancied  if  I  opened  my  eyes  I 
should  see  slender  streams  of  music  flowing  off  from 


170  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

the  strings  of  the  instrument."  Nicholas  laughed  as 
he  said  this,  as  if  to  take  off  the  edge  of  too  much  sen 
timent.  "  J  thought  of  David  and  King  Saul,  and  fan 
cied  again  that  every  time  the  violin  bow  was  drawn, 
an  arrow  was  fired  straight  at  the  evil  spirit  that  pos 
sessed  Saul." 

"  Bravo,  Nicholas!"  cried  Miss  Fix,  clapping  her 
hands.  "  My  ticket  was  well  spent.  But  tell  me, 
what  did  you  like  best  of  all?"  Nicholas  hesitated  a 
moment. 

"I  suppose,"  he  finally  said  "it  is  a  very  uneducated 
taste,  but  I  was  more  moved,  when  he  was  called 
back  and  played  *  Home,  sweet  home '  for  an  encore. 
I  could  enjoy  all  the  concert,  but  when  I  heard  that 
I  could  build  my  pleasure  on  a  previous  exact  knowl 
edge,  however  simple,  for  I  have  sung  that  song,  and 
I  did  not  know  any  of  the  other  pieces.  I  confess  I 
felt  a  moderate  amount  of  envy  of  those  who  were 
always  remembering  while  they  listened."  He  turned 
to  Miss  Lovering. 

"  You  have  not  told  us  what  you  liked  best,"  said  he, 
"  or  perhaps  you  have  told  Miss  Fix." 

"  I  do  not  know  that  I  have  asked  myself  the  ques 
tion  before,"  said  she,  "  but  I  am  inclined  to  think,  at 
least  so  it  seems  at  this  moment,  that  I  too  liked  the 
encore  best  —  it  seemed  so  entirely  in  keeping  with  bis 
style  and  manner  of  playing.  Perhaps  if  we  had 
heard  some  folk-song  of  his  own  country,  that  would 
have  been  even  more  characteristic." 

"  Well,"  said  Miss  Fix,  as  her  guests  at  the  same  mo 
ment  rose  to  take  their  leave  ;  "  I  have  almost  heard 
the  concert  myself.  But  tell  me,  Nicholas,  did  the 
music  really  sound  better  in  the  gallery,  or  did  it  really 
sound  better  on  the  floor,  Miss  Sally  ?  " 

"I  don't  see  how  that  question  is  ever  to  be  an 
swered  by  two  persons,"  said  the  young  lady. 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  171 

"  Then  tell  me,  Nicholas,"  she  persisted.  "  How  was 
it  ?  For  you  heard  it  both  on  the  floor  and  in  the  gal 
lery,  did  you  not  ?  " 

"  I  moved  about  somewhat,"  said  he,  retreating.  "  I 
think,  when  one  is  alone,  the  gallery  is  best.  Good 
afternoon,  Miss  Levering,"  and  he  made  his  way  to  his 
aunt's  door. 

"  The  snipe  ! "  said  Miss  Fix,  with  a  vindictive  toss 
of  her  head,  and  sitting  at  the  piano,  she  dashed  at  a 
waltz. 

"  That  takes  it  out  of  me,"  she  said,  jumping  up  from 
the  piano.  "  Dear  Miss  Sally,  what  should  we  do  with 
out  our  pianos.  We  can  tell  them  all  our  secrets  as 
loudly  as  we  choose,  and  they  are  dumb  as  oracles. 
What  were  oracles?  I  always  supposed  they  were  a 
kind  of  oyster,  till  something  I  saw  the  other  day  gave 
me  a  misgiving." 

"You  are  an  oracle,"  said  Sally,  laughing;  "  especially 
when  you  sit  on  your  piano-stool.  Good-by,  and  all 
manner  of  thanks  for  the  ticket." 

"  Bless  me  !  to  be  sure,  and  Nicholas  forgot  to  thank 
me  for  his.  I  must  go  and  reprimand  him ; "  and  the 
little  woman  'knocked  at  her  neighbor's  door,  as  her 
visitor  nodded  a  good-by  and  closed  the  street  door 
behind  her. 


172  TEE  DWELLERS  IN 


CHAPTER  XII. 

MR.  PAUL  LE  CLEAR'S  philosophy  generally  bade 
him  take  his  enjoyment  of  life  leisurely  i  He  was  of 
the  opinion  that  nothing  was  gained  by  haste,  even  in 
the  pursuit  of  pleasure,  and  that  the  wisest  course,  when 
happiness  seemed  to  be  approaching  the  zenith,  was  to 
retire  before  one  saw  any  decline.  Hence,  in  follow 
ing  any  line  of  study  or  reading  or  aesthetics,  he  stu 
diously  avoided  going  to  extremes  ;  he  stopped  short  of 
the  top  of  everything,  satisfied  that  the  finest  enjoyment 
was  to  be  had  on  the  slope.  To  pursue  the  figure  back 
to  its  suggestion,  he  had  noticed  that  persons  climbing 
mountains  were  usually  over  eager  to  secure  the  view 
which  was  to  be  had  from  the  summit,  regardless  of 
the  fact  that  the  ascent  was  a  deliberate  turning  of  the 
back  upon  all  the  delightful  prospects  that  were  steadily 
revealed  to  one  who  would  take  the  trouble  to  stop  and 
rest ;  and  that  those  who  reached  the  summit  were 
after  all  rarely  contented,  the  wider  reach  of  view  being 
not  altogether  a  fair  exchange  for  more  secret  and 
fascinating  glimpses  to  be  had  on  the  way,  while  the 
personal  discomfort  and  fatigue  when  one  had  achieved 
one's  object  constituted  a  very  serious  drawback  to  the 
full  pleasure  of  whatever  view  was  to  be  had  from  the 
summit. 

Some  such  train  of  thought  perhaps  floated  in  his 
mind,  as  he  sat  before  his  fire  on  the  evening  after  the 
concert  At  any  rate  his  conduct  obeyed  the  impulse 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  173 

suggested  by  it.  His  copper-kettle  was  simmering  on 
the  hob,  his  little  tea-service  stood  by  him  on  the  table, 
an  automatic  toaster,  requiring  but  a  momentary  at 
tention  was  holding  the  thin  slices  of  bread,  and  the 
demure  spoons  which  seemed  to  have  grown  from  an 
other  variety  of  the  plant  which  produced  his  tea-set, 
lay  gleaming  on  the  white  cloth.  He  evidently  was 
enough  at  his  ease  to  have  no  special  temptation  to 
change  his  posture. 

He  was  considering  whether  or  no  he  should  go 
through  the  process  of  dressing  for  a  call  on  Miss 
Levering.  He  certainly  had  enjoyed  the  one  or  two 
glimpses  he  had  had  of  her,  and  espying  her  in  the 
afternoon  at  the  concert,  he  had  used  his  walking 
privileges,  which  he  held  in  common  with  other  young 
men  in  the  concert  hall,  and  sought  her.  It  was  pleas 
ant  to  fall  into  a  seat  by  her  side,  to  walk  home  with 
her  in  the  twilight,  and  to  indulge  in  some  of  the  fan 
cies  which  had  occurred  to  him  from  time  to  time,  and 
which,  in  default  of  any  great  originality,  were  at  least 
sufficiently  struck  out  from  his  polite  learning  to  have 
a  certain  glitter  about  them.  Miss  Lovering  was  a 
good  listener,  and  a  respectful  one,  he  felt,  and  there 
would  be  an  indolent  satisfaction  in  talking  with  her, 
all  the  greater  from  a  freshness  and  naivete  which  he 
thought  he  saw  in  her.  He  wondered  how  she  and 
crabbed  Dr.  Chocker  lived  together,  and  whether  if  he 
called,  it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to  strain  his 
polite  words  through  the  Doctor's  dipper.  There 
seemed  to  be  an  unnecessary  haste  in  using  the  priv 
ilege  so  promptly  after  it  had  been  granted  to  him. 
Yet,  in  the  absence  of  any  immediate  pursuit,  the 
young  man  experienced  a  certain  zest  in  following  an 
acquaintance  so  agreeably  formed ;  and  he  owned  to 
himself  some  curiosity  as  to  a  neighbor  so  distinct 
from  the  ordinary  inhabitants  of  the  court. 


174  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

So  it  came  about,  that,  with  more  alacrity  than  he 
usually  displayed,  he  made  ready  to  seek  Miss  Lover- 
ing.  He  was  ushered  into  the  parlor,  and  waited  the 
coming  of  the  young  lady.  The  stiff  and  angular  room 
was  relieved  a  little  by  apparently  hap-hazard  decora 
tion.  A  sudden  thought  had  made  a  rich  piece  of  silk, 
brought  forth  from  some  old  store  in  the  house,  serve 
as  a  screen  to  the  lower  half  of  a  window,  whose  light 
fell  upon  the  piano  ;  the  old  fire-place,  disencumbered 
of  its  grate,  had  a  curious  perforated  kettle,  hanging 
from  a  crane,  and  containing  the  smouldering  embers  of 
a  charcoal  fire;  upon  the  white  deal  door  a  careless 
vine  was  painted,  and  a  coarsely  woven  rug  of  oddly 
assorted  carpet  ends  lay  before  the  fire-place.  Ou  the 
table  lay  a  book,  held  open  by  some  light  work.  He 
read  the  name,  and  was  conscious  of  an  offering  to  his 
vanity  when  he  found  it  was  the  Faerie  Queene.  Just 
then  Miss  Levering  entered,  and  saw  him  standing  at 
the  table. 

"  You  see,  I  am  qualifying  myself  to  appreciate  your 
theory,"  she  said,  as  she  greeted  him,  and  sat  down  by 
the  table. 

"  I  hardly  know  how  strong  a  light  my  theory  will 
bear,"  said  Le  Clear,  "  but  it  grew  out  of  an  accidental 
reading  of  Spenser  and  Homer  at  the  same  time,  and 
a  comparison  of  their  metres  suggested  itself  to  me. 
I  thought  I  saw  in  Homer  a  rhythm  which  was  not 
exactly  imitative,  but  a  reflection  of  the  rise  and  fall  of 
a  boat  on  the  open  sea.  Let  me  repeat  a  few  lines  to 
show  what  I  mean."  Thereupon  he  gave  a  dozen  or 
twenty  lines  which  he  had  once  learned  for  this  pur 
pose.  "  Don't  laugh  at  my  pronunciation,  Miss  Lover- 
ing.  I  am  afraid  if  your  grandfather  heard  it,  he 
would  ask  me  when  I  studied  Choctaw." 

"  "Well,"  said  Miss  Lovering,  "  I  think  I  did  detect 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  175 

some  such  rise  and  fall,  but  how  do  I  know  but  you 
threw  it  into  your  recitation.  However,  I  won't  be  so 
ungenerous.  Here  is  Spenser.  Try  his  verse  by  the 
same  rule." 

"  Ah,  but  my  theory  supposes  a  difference  and  not  a 
likeness  in  the  two.  As  Homer's  verse  borrows  its 
rhythm  from  the  movement  of  the  sea  to  a  sailor  in  a 
boat,  so  Spenser's  stanza  reflects  the  same  movement  of 
the  sea  as  noticed  from  the  land :  the  flowing  in  of  the 
tide,  the  retreating  wave,  the  poise  of  the  water  and 
the  long  rolls,  all  these  reappear  in  his  verse." 

"  Unfortunately  for  me,"  said  Miss  Levering.  "  I 
am  as  ignorant  of  the  sea,  as  I  am  of  Greek.  I  never 
have  seen  the  ocean,  except  as  I  have  caught  glimpses 
of  it  in  some  of  my  walks,  and  I  never  have  been  near 
enough  to  see  the  waves  or  hear  the  surf.  But  I  like 
your  theory,"  she  added,  laughing,  "  because  it  is  so  po 
etic  and  so  nicely  balanced.  Did  you  think  of  it  when 
you  were  walking  the  beach  or  when  you  were  in  a 
boat." 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  he ;  "I  evolve  such  things  in  my 
study." 

"  But  you  have  been  in  a  boat  ?  "  she  asked,  look 
ing  up. 

"  Well,  you  may  think  it  sti'ange,  but  I  believe  I 
never  was  on  the  water  in  my  life,  but  I  can  easily  un 
derstand  the  sensation." 

"  You  will  tell  me  next,"  she  said,  with  a  laugh, 
"  that  you  never  walked  on  the  beach  or  saw  the 
surf." 

"  Picking  up  pebbles  of  theories,  eh  ?  "  he  rejoined. 
"  But  tell  me,  Miss  Lovering,  has  all  your  life  been 
passed  among  the  mountains." 

"  You  are  not  to  evade  my  question,  Mr.  Le  Clear," 
said  she,  laying  down  her  work.  "  When  did  you  last 
walk  by  the  shore  of  the  sounding  sea  ?  " 


176  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  When  I  read  the  first  book  of  the  Iliad." 

"  And  did  you  have  to  go  back  so  far  to  see  the 
ocean  ? " 

"  Oh  no ;  there  is  Tennyson's  '  Sea  Dreams,'  and  in 
deed  all  the  poetry  that  is  to  be  found  in  Mr.  Longfel 
low's  '  Thalatta.' " 

"  And  do  you  really  get  at  nature  exclusively  through 
books  ?  " 

"  We  seem  to  be  playing  at '  Twenty  Questions,'  Miss 
Lovering.  I  think  you  are  entitled  to  a  guess  by  this 
time,  or  else  I  ought  to  be  carrying  on  the  questioning 
at  the  same  time,  arid  I  should  like  to  ask  if  that  is 
embroidery  that  you  are  at  work  upon.  I  have  been 
watching  your  hand  and  half  discovering  the  figure." 

"  I  am  afraid  embroidery  would  be  too  fine  a  word 
for  it,"  said  she,  holding  up  the  light  cambric  on  which 
she  was  sketching  with  her  needle.  "  It  is  a  sort  of 
improvisation  which  an  aunt  of  mine  taught  me,  merely 
white  cambric  on  which  I  stitch  any  figures  that  I  may 
fancy.  It  keeps  my  hands  employed  when  I  am  read- 
ing." 

"  Somewhat  as  we  may  smoke  to  keep  our  heads 
clear,  I  suppose.  But  what  will  it  come  out  finally, 
an  arras  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  am  not  over  anxious  about  that,"  said  she.  "  I 
am  a  philosopher,  too,  and  consider  a  certain  wayward 
ness  and  indefiniteness  a  proper  expression  of  a  wom 
an's  character." 

"  And  yours  goes  into  cambric  ?  " 

"I  think  your  game  of  'Twenty  Questions'  must  be 
nearly  through,  and  that  you  are  entitled  to  a  guess, 
Mr.  Le  Clear." 

"  I  will  guess  that  you  have  sufficient  stability  to 
answer  in  the  affirmative  when  I  ask  you  to  let  me 
enjoy  some  music  with  you."  Miss  Lovering  laid  her 
work  aside  and  sat  at  the  piano. 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  177 

«  What  shall  it  be  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  What,  can  we  range  over  the  whole  world  of 
music  ?  Then  give  me  something  of  Schubert's." 

u  Ah  !   Beethoven's  wife,  as  Miss  Fix  calls  him." 

"  Did  Miss  Fix  discover  that  title  ?  " 

"  No,  I  don't  think  she  did.  She  repeated  it  to  me 
once  as  something  said  by  one  of  her  friends,  —  Mr. 
Windgraff,  I  suspect.  'It  is  impossible,'  he  said,  '  to 
tell  any  one  who  does  n't  know  music,  what  the  differ 
ence  is  between  Beethoven  and  Schubert,  and  if  one 
does  understand  music,  then  it  is  enough  to  say  that 
Schubert  is  Beethoven's  wife.'  " 

"  I  should  think  it  also  necessaiy  for  one  to  under 
stand,  besides  music,  the  relation  of  husband  and  wife,"" 
said  Mr.  Le  Clear.  "  Miss  Fix  ought  to  discover  some 
musical  comparison  which  would  answer  to  her  univer 
sal  charity.  You  know,  I  suppose,  Miss  Lovering, 
that  Miss  Fix  is  the  guardian  angel  of  this  court,  a 
sort  of  genius  loci,  so  to  speak,  and  that  her  unbounded 
charity  takes  in  all  the  beggars  in  intellect  or  morals, 
and  offers  them  cold  crusts  and  glasses  of  water.  I 
have  my  own  private  opinion  that  this  court  must  be  a 
favorite  stalking  ground  for  theories  and  views  of  all 
kind,  arid  that  Miss  Fix  is  the  divinity  that  presides 
over  our  destinies  as  philosophical  creatures.  Else 
how  do  you  account  for  the  erratic  performances  of 
that  young  man  whose  entrance  here  has  disturbed  the 
old  order  of  things  so  much  ?  You  never  heard,  I  pre 
sume,  of  his  sudden  apparition  to  me  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Miss  Lovering.  "  I  knew  of  the  party 
that  Miss  Fix  gave.  My  grandfather  has  told  me  of 
that." 

"  Oh,  it  was  before  the  party.  It  comes  back  to  me 
now  especially,  as  I  find  myself  in  this  house.  I  was 
just  stepping  out  of  my  own  house  to  call  on  your 
12 


178  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

grandfather  when  a  young  man,  who  ought  to  have  had 
his  eyes  about  him,  but  who  probably  was  suffering 
from  some  of  the  hayseed  still  in  his  hair,  put  himself 
directly  in  my  way,  and  I  nearly  jumped  him  down. 
That  young  man,  Miss  Levering,  was  Mr.  Judge,  who 
had  been  here  under  false  pretenses  and  whom  I  in 
vited  up  into  my  room,  where  it  was  easier  to  have  an 
explanation  than  it  was  out  of  doors.  I  thought  I  saw 
an  innocent  youth  in  him,  and  so  I  put  him  before  the 
fare,  warmed  him  with  some  tea,  and  before  long  the 
sap  started  and  I  had  a  most  ingenuous  narrative  of  his 
.early  life,  and  present  hopes.  You  can  imagine  my 
amusement  when  I  was  invited  by  Mr.  Manlius  to  Mrs. 
Blake's  and  found  that  he  had  actually  erected  this 
mild  young  man  into  a  sort  of  Guy  Fawkes  or  Dr. 
Rappacinni." 

"  But  what  do  you  mean  by  his  coming  here  under 
false  pretenses  ?  " 

"  Oh,  that  was  a  short  way  of  saying  that  he  called 
here  to  ask  if  his  aunt  lived  here,  and  was  rather 
abruptly  shown  in  to  your  grandfather,  who  naturally 
assumed  that  it  was  I,  whom  he  had  appointed  to  meet 
at  that  hour." 

"  Why,  did  you  know  my  grandfather,  then  ?  " 

"  Only  by  correspondence,"  said  Le  Clear,  carelessly. 
"  I  had  written  to  make  some  special  inquiries  in  re 
gard  to  certain  studies  I  was  pursuing,  in  which  I  knew 
him  to  be  a  proficient." 

"  Then  did  you  see  him  ?  " 

"  No.  I  found  that,  as  I  said,  he  had  mistaken  Judge 
for  me,  and  I  thought  it  would  only  annoy  him  to  have 
me  call  and  explain  or  be  explained  to.  But  come, 
we  have  wandered  a  long  way  from  Beethoven  and 
Beethoven's  wife.  Shall  we  not  have  the  music  ?  " 
Miss  Levering  turned  again  to  the  piano,  and  played 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  179 

both  from  Schubert  and  from  Beethoven.  Mr.  Le 
Clear  called  for  one  piece  and  another,  making  some 
slight  appreciative  comment  on  each,  and  occasionally 
changed  his  place,  standing  by  the  fire-place,  or  turning 
her  leaves  in  some  rapid  piece. 

"  Do  you  not  play  ? "  she  asked.  "  But  I  re 
member  you  do  not,  except  by  proxy  on  your  music- 
box." 

"  It  would  hardly  be  de  rigeur  for  me  to  invite  you 
to  my  rooms,"  said  he ;  "  let  me  bring  you  my  music- 
box  some  time.  However,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  some 
mild  evening  you  may  hear  it,  as  I  sometimes  put  it  in 
my  window  seat  and  open  the  window  so  as  to  get  dis 
tant  effects." 

"  I  think  I  heard  it  a  night  or  two  ago,"  said  she, 
"  but  I  should  very  much  like  to  hear  it  near  by." 

"  It  has  its  little  history,"  said  Le  Clear,  "  but  I 
won't  afflict  you  with  it  to-night."  When  he  was  gone, 
Sally  took  up  her  book  again  and  her  work,  but  laid 
them  aside  presently,  and  sat  before  the  fire-place,  from 
which  came  a  faint  sparkle  of  light.  She  heard  Ma 
ria's  step  and  knew  thus  that  her  grandfather  had  left 
his  study  for  his  chamber.  She  wished  she  might  bid 
him  good-night,  but  it  was  now  too  late  for  that,  and 
she  sat  idly  until  Maria  came  into  the  room  with  her 
little  lamp  hung  from  her  wrist. 

To  remain  after  that  would  have  so  jarred  the  astro 
nomical  severity  of  Maria's  movements,  that  the  girl, 
dearly  as  she  loved  late  hours,  smiled  a  good-night  and 
went  up-stairs.  She  opened  the  window  in  her  room 
and  there  came  in  a  tinkling  melody  which  made  her 
draw  back  and  sit  in  the  shadow  until  it  ceased,  when 
she  returned  and  closed  the  window  softly. 


180  THE  DWELLERS  IN 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Miss  LOVERING'S  morning  intrusions  upon  her 
grandfather  were  so  rare  that  the  old  gentleman  was 
rather  surprised  to  see  her,  the  next  morning,  when  he 
had  settled  himself  to  work  at  his  table,  come  in  and 
seat  herself  on  the  floor  by  the  fire.  He  did  not  speak 
to  her,  nor  she  to  him  —  that  was  a  tacit  convention  be 
tween  them,  but  he  continued  his  work  while  she  plied 
her  needle.  At  length  the  girl  laid  aside  her  sewing 
and  went  to  the  shelves.  She  stood  before  one  some 
time,  until  her  grandfather,  requiring  a  book  from  the 
same  neighborhood,  came  and  looked  over  her  shoulder. 

"  Humph  !  "  he  ejaculated.  "  Wrong  shelf,  Sally. 
This  is  Greek.  Don't  you  know  Greek  when  you  see 
it?" 

"  No,  grandfather,  and  that 's  the  reason  I  'm  looking 
at  it." 

"  You  won't  learn  it  by  looking  at  it.  Here,  take 
this  if  you  want  to  learn  Greek,"  and  he  drew  from 
his  shelves  a  Greek  grammar,  written  in  Latin." 

"  But  I  don't  know  Latin,"  said  the  young  lady, 
somewhat  out  of  countenance.  "  Don't  you  think  I 
had  better  begin  with  an  English  grammar  of  Latin  ?  " 

"  Sure  you  know  English,  eh  ?  Here,  this  is  what  I 
began  my  Latin  on,"  and  he  drew  down  a  forlorn  little 
Eton  grammar  without  a  word  of  English  from  begin 
ning  to  end. 

"  I  did  think  I  should  like  to  study  Greek,"  said  she, 
meekly. 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  181 

"  Study  Greek  ? "  The  old  gentleman  settled  his 
spectacles  well  on  his  nose  and  looked  hard  at  his  rosy 
granddaughter.  His  countenance  relaxed  a  little. 
"  No,  no,  Sally.  Let  Greek  alone.  If  you  undertake 
to  know  that,  you  will  have  to  drop  your  music  and 
your  pictures.  You  could  learn  Greek,  if  you  wanted 
to.  But  what  does  want  to  mean  ?  It  means  to  live 
as  I  live,  eh  ?  "  and  he  looked  at  her  again. 

"  Will  you  please  read  me  a  little  Greek,  grand 
father.  I  want  to  hear  how  it  sounds.  Just  read  me  a 
little  Homer.  Read  it  rhythmically,"  and  she  looked 
coaxingly  yet  rather  timidly  at  the  old  gentleman. 

"  Hem,"  said  he,  trotting  about  the  room,  with  his 
spectacles  in  his  hand.  "  To  think  of  this !  to  think  of 
this !  Sally,  don't  be  a  goose." 

"  But  just  read  a  little,  please."  Dr.  Checker  went 
to  the  shelf  and  took  down  a  Homer. 

"  You  might  as  well  play  me  a  piece  of  music,  Sally, 
but  I'll  try  ye."  He  turned  over  the  leaves  of  the 
book  and  finally  seemed  to  find  what  suited  him,  when 
he  began  to  read,  casting  an  eye  on  his  granddaughter. 

"  Had  enough,  Sally  ?  " 

"  A  little  more,  please,  and  please  be  very  rhythmi 
cal."  So  he  went  on  again  in  a  sing-song  tone. 

"  There ! "  said  he,  finally.  "  How  do  you  like 
Greek  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  suppose  there 's  a  difference  in  pronuncia 
tion,"  said  she,  dubiously. 

"  What !  " 

"  You  see,  grandfather,  I  've  lately  met  with  a  the 
ory,"  Sally  hesitated  as  if  the  theory  might  walk  into 
the  room  and  denounce  her.  "  It 's  a  theory  of  rhythm, 
as  comparing  Homer  and  Spenser."  Thereupon  she 
proceeded  to  decant  the  theoretic  fluid  which  Le  Clear 
had  poured  into  her  mind,  into  the  Doctor's  capacious 


182  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

dipper,  fortifying  her  version  with  a  repetition  of  two 
stanzas  from  the  Faerie  Queene. 

"  All  through  ?  "  asked  the  old  gentleman.  "  All 
through  ?  "  and  he  laid  his  dipper  down.  "  That 's  a 
precious  theory,  Sally,  a  precious  theory.  You  did  n't 
find  that  in  any  of  my  books,  I  warrant,  without  a  green 
pencil  mark  against  it.  Oh,  these  theorists,  these  theo 
rists,"  and  the  scholar  trotted  about  the  room  fuming. 
"  It 's  a  piece  of  nonsense,  Sally,  not  worth  the  paper 
it 's  written  on.  Show  me  the  book  that  holds  it." 

"  I  heard  it  in  conversation,"  said  Sally,  a  little 
alarmed  at  the  vindictive  spirit  her  grandfather  showed, 
as  he  seemed  to  hold  a  writ  against  the  unfortunate 
little  theory. 

"  And  who 's  been  talking  such  precious  nonsense 
to  you  ?  Don't  listen  to  such  talk,  Sally.  It  will 
poison  your  mind.  Here  have  I  been  working  for  ten 
years,  off  and  on,  on  the  metres,  and  along  comes  some 
jackanapes  with  his  little  dandy  theory  ;  bah  !  "  Miss 
Levering  discreetly  covered  herself  from  this  invective 
with  her  work,  which  she  held  up  as  a  shield  against 
her  grandfather. 

"  You  need  n't  laugh,  child,"  and  then  his  own  face 
relaxed.  "  The  fact  is,"  said  he,  tweaking  her  ear 
affectionately,  "  that  was  n't  Greek  that  I  read.  I 
made  up  a  hodge  podge  to  see  if  you  knew  anything 
about  it.  Didn't  you  think  it  was  rhythmical,  eh  ?" 
and  he  chuckled  to  himself,  and  soon  began  burrowing 
in  his  work  again.  His  granddaughter  soon  slipped 
out  of  the  room,  and  went  back  to  her  piano. 

"At  least  I  know  what  is  genuine  in  music,"  she 
said  to  herself.  She  went  to  the  window  to  raise 
the  shade,  and  as  she  did  so,  looked  out  into  the  court 
and  noticed  Mr.  Nicholas  Judge  walking  away  from  his 
aunt's  house.  It  was  several  days  since  she  had  seen 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  183 

Mrs.  Blake,  and  being  of  a  somewhat  vagabond  as  well 
as  willful  mood  this  morning,  she  suddenly  resolved  to 
visit  her  imprisoned  neighbor.  With  Mrs.  Blake  she 
held  some  things  in  common,  which  rarely  seemed  to 
be  shared  by  her  with  other  acquaintances.  Some 
thing  in  the  whiteness  and  perfect  repose  of  that  lady's 
chamber  accorded  with  the  dignity  and  sweetness  in 
which  she  herself  had  been  nurtured  in  the  home  of 
her  maiden  aunts.  Moreover,  Mrs.  Blake,  while  pos 
sessing  a  nature  instinctively  refined  and  cultivated  by 
education,  owed  her  contentment  and  ease  to  the  higher 
ministrations  of  a  religious  trust,  which  spread  over 
her  an  air  of  calm  and  patience,  inexpressibly  soothing 
to  one  at  all  inclined  to  restlessness.  Miss  Fix  used  to 
say  that  when  she  herself  was  tired,  going  to  see  Mrs. 
Blake  was  much  better  than  going  to  church,  for  you 
never  heard  a  sermon,  yet  came  away  as  if  you  had 
been  preached  to  and  converted. 

It  was  the  middle  of  the  forenoon  when  Miss  Lov- 
ering  entered  Mrs.  Blake's  chamber.  Mrs.  Starkey 
was  there  also,  but  after  a  few  minutes  rose  and  slipped 
away,  so  like  a  shadow,  that  it  was  some  time  before 
Miss  Loveriug  perceived  that  she  was  gone. 

"How  fragrant  your  rose  is,  Mrs.  Blake,"  she  said, 
bending  over  a  single  spray  that  stood  in  a  glass  on  the 
table.  "  I  am  tempted  to  think  there  is  something  per 
petual  about  it,  since  I  never  come  here  but  I  find  it 
always  fresh  and  always  red." 

"  That  is  my  nephew's  fancy,"  said  Mrs.  Blake. 
"  Pie  said  this  room  was  so  white  that  he  wanted  a  single 
spot  of  color,  and  that  the  air  was  always  so  sweet  that 
he  wanted  to  emphasize  it  with  a  single  bit  of  fra 
grance.  You  see,  living  here  so  many  years,  I  have  been 
gradually  compelled  to  the  whiteness  and  the  sweet 
ness.  I  used  to  amuse  myself  with  planning  changes 


184  FIVE-SISTERS   COURT. 

in  the  furniture  and  the  general  dress  of  the  room  ; 
then  I  got  very  tired  of  variety,  and  little  by  little  I 
dismissed  one  thing  after  another,  until  finally  my  eyes 
could  seem  to  find  nothing  satisfactory  but  pure  white. 
I  think  very  possibly  it  may  be  a  mere  wliiai  of  my 
own  ;  indeed  I  am  quite  certain  that  to  many  invalids 
unvarying  white  would  be  distressing,  but  it  has  come 
to  be  second  nature  with  me.  Then  I  had  an  almost 
morbid  horror  of  confined  and  close  rooms.  I  had  been 
in  them  when  the  persons  lying  there  were  wholly  un 
conscious  of  the  deadness  of  the  air,  so  when  I  found 
myself  imprisoned,  I  was  resolved  that  I  would  secure 
the  most  perfect  ventilation.  I  used  to  ask  my  friends 
the  most  rigid  questions,  when  they  came  to  see  me,  to 
determine  whether  they  perceived  anything  disagree 
able  in  the  air,  but  as  I  sometimes  did,  when  they, 
coming  from  out  of  doors  did  not,  I  came  to  think  that 
the  sense  of  smell  had  been  exceptionally  developed  in 
me.  But  I  do  not  dislike  the  red  rose,  though  I  am 
so  foolish  that  it  has  to  be  carried  away  before  others 
think  it  drooping.  I  seem  to  perceive  the  first  intima 
tion  of  its  loss  of  health.  Nicholas  has  tried  chemical 
experiments  here  to  determine  the  purity  of  the  air, 
and  gravely  announces  that  I  have  the  standard  of  pure 
air.  It  amuses  me  to  regulate  it.  I  have  tried  all 
sorts  of  experiments.  That  earthen  vessel  is  my  hy 
grometer,  as  Nicholas  calls  it,  and  I  have  found  how  to 
secure  the  requisite  moisture  by  the  simple  use  of  water. 
So  the  room  has  come  to  be  a  sort  of  dress  that  I  wear, 
which  I  never  suffer  to  become  too  tight  or  too  loose. 
But  don't  fancy  that  I  have  to  give  all  my  attention 
to  it ;  it  has  become  an  instinct,  I  suppose.  Will  you 
kindly  put  a  piece  of  maple  on  the  fire.  No,  my  dear, 
that  is  hickory.  There,  that  is  fight.  Is  it  possible 
that  you  lived  long  in  the  country  and  do  riot  know  the 
difference  between  hickory  and  maple  ?  " 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  185 

"  I  know  them  with  their  bark  on,  and  growing," 
said  Miss  Levering,  laughing. 

"  I  have  not  forgotten  the  maples  that  I  saw  at 
Kingston  more  than  twenty  years  ago,"  said  Mrs. 
Blake.  "  There  were  some  that  stood  in  a  little  valley 
to  the  east  of  Round  Top  and  took  on  the  most  lovely 
hues  in  autumn." 

"Oh,  I  know  those,"  cried  Sally.  "They  were  al 
ways  the  first  to  change,  and  every  fall  I  used  to  watch 
for  their  color.  We  had  a  way  of  going  there  on  my 
birthday,  and  it  seemed  as  if  they  always  had  a  flaming 
branch  just  ready  for  me." 

"  And  were  there  not  some  maples  also  near  the 
church?  I  seem  to  remember  looking  out  of  the  win 
dow  on  some  ?  " 

"  Yes,  there  were.  When  I  was  a  little  girl  I 
used  to  look  at  their  bright  leaves  through  the  window 
and  try  to  imagine  how  painted  windows  in  great 
cathedrals  must  look." 

"  Well,  have  you  found  windows  more  beautiful  in 
any  of  the  churches  here  ?  " 

"  I  suppose  I  am  getting  over  my  first  feeling  of  dis 
appointment.  The  windows  were  not  as  lovely  as  I 
dreamt  them  to  be,  but  I  am  gradually  learning  to  find 
their  own  beauty  in  them." 

"  Perhaps  my  whiteness  of  eye  prevents  my  liking 
them,"  said  Mrs.  Blake,  with  a  smile,  "  and  indeed  I  have 
to  remind  myself  constantly  that  I  am  judging  what  I 
have  not  seen  for  a  long  time  and  only  remember. 
But  I  live  in  such  a  little  room  and  have  so  few  things 
about  me,  that  it  sometimes  seems  as  if  I  had  been  all 
these  years  trying  to  sweep  and  dust  my  mind,  until  I 
had  got  rid  of  a  good  deal  that  was  picturesque  in  sen 
timent.  I  have  come  to  like  simplicity,  but  I  am  by 
no  means  certain  that  simplicity  is  the  only  or  even  the 


186  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

best  condition.  Once  in  a  while  I  find  myself  sighing, 
for  instance,  for  a  choral  service.  I  never  was  pres 
ent  at  one,  yet  I  can  fancy  what  it  might  be,  and  I  am 
very  sure  that  certain  parts  of  the  service  must  gain 
immensely  from  the  color  which  music  gives.  My 
nephew  has  a  theory  that  the  real  harmonies  of  color 
and  sound  will  one  day  be  so  far  reduced  to  rule,  that 
splendid  effects  will  be  produced  by  very  simple 
means,  arid  I  suppose  we  are  on  our  way  to  that  theory 
when  we  hear  a  processional  hymn  and  see  the  proces 
sion  at  the  same  time,  or  see  a  company  of  soldiers 
marching  to  the  sound  of  martial  music." 

"  Do  you  not  miss  being  away  from  church?"  asked 
the  girl,  timidly. 

"  As  I  miss  everything  else  that  is  good,"  said  Mrs. 
Blake,  smiling  ;  "  and  find  something  in. its  place  that 
contents  me.  I  have  to  bring  everything  to  me,  you 
know,  and  so  I  must  make  my  congregation  also. 
But  I  suppose  there  are  few  congregations  that  are 
quite  as  select  as  mine.  A  good  deal  of  my  reading 
is  in  history  and  biography,  and  so  I  have  what  I  call 
my  parochial  list,  and  out  of  it  I  gather  my  fellow- 
worshipers.  I  suppose  it  is.  something  like  playing  at 
going  to  church.  Last  Wednesday,  you  know,  was  Ash 
Wednesday,  and  before  I  read  the  service  I  gathered 
about  me  such  a  collection  of  penitents  as  made  me,  I 
will  confess,  feel  a  little  alarmed.  There  was  King 
David  to  begin  with,  the  Apostle  Peter,  the  woman 
who  was  a  sinner,  Simon  Magus,  St.  Augustine,  Arch 
bishop  Cranmer,  Henry  Vaughan,  John  Winthrop,  Dr. 
Samuel  Johnson,  all  most  excellent  people,  and  it  gave 
me  great  comfort  to  make  my  confession  in  company 
with  them,  though,  as  I  said,  I  felt  for  a  moment  a  trifle 
uneasy  lest  I  should  have  the  pride  of  a  sweet  humil 
ity."  Mrs.  Blake  laughed  a  low  laugh  as  she  looked 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  187 

at  her  visitor's  perplexed  face.  "  Do  not  think  I  am 
making  fun  of  it  all,  child.  But  I  have  led  so  very 
solitary  a  life  here  that  it  has  become  a  second  nature 
to  me  to  make  real  the  persons  I  read  about,  and  I  have 
acquired  the  habit  of  holding  them  in  my  imagination 
so  firmly  that  I  believe  I  am  quite  as  positively  af 
fected  by  their  presence,  as  some  are  by  those  whom 
they  touch  and  see.  When  I  chant  the  Te  Deum,  in 
the  pause  after  '  the  .  glorious  company  of  the  Apos 
tles  praise  thee/  they  all  seem  to  rise  to  my  eyes,  and 
I  have  individualized  them  so  much,  that  once  I  be 
lieve  I  actually  missed  St.  Thomas.  Ah,  I  have  some 
times  wished  I  were  a  painter :  it  seems  to  me  that  I 
could  paint  that  glorious  company  of  the  Apostles.  I 
suppose  that  my  little  room  answers  somewhat  the  pur 
pose  of  Fra  Angelico's  cell,  only  I  am  not  Fra  Angel- 
ico." 

"  I  should  think  living  people  would  seem  like 
ghosts  to  you,  if  ghosts  have  come  to  life  here,"  said 
Miss  Love  ring. 

"  Do  people  when  you  wake  seem  like  the  real  per 
sons  of  whom  you  dreamt  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Blake.  "  My 
ghosts  come  at  my  bidding." 

"  May  a  ghost  come  in,  then  ?  "  asked  a  voice  in  the 
passage.  The  door  was  ajar  and  Nicholas  Judge 
pushed  it  open,  as  his  aunt  answered,  — 

"  Come  in,  good  ghost."  • 

"  Excuse  me,  I  thought  it  was  Miss  Fix."  But  he 
did  not  go  immediately.  "  I  have  been  off  on  a  voyage 
of  discovery,  aunt.  Did  you  ever  visit  the  tall  chim 
ney,  by  Stony  brook,  Miss  Lovering  ?  " 

"  I  have  only  seen  it  in  the  distance." 

"  I  had  a  fancy  to  see  it  from  what  I  had  heard,  and 
walked  out  there  this  morning.  It  looks  even  more 
impressive  near  by  ;  there  are  no  buildings  immediately 


188  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

around  it.  It  was  the  chimney  of  some  chemical 
works  which  were  destroyed  some  time  ago.  It  stands 
on  the  top  of  a  rough  hill,  and  I  picked  my  way  to  it 
over  the  debris  of  the  ruined  buildings.  It  looked  very 
high  and  very  rough  from  below  ;  great  seams  ran  up 
the  surface  and  an  old  lightning  rod  appeared  in  de 
tached  portions.  But  the  strangest  part  was  the  inte 
rior.  There  are  a  couple  of  narrow  openings  about 
ten  feet  high  that  let  one  into  the  inside,  which  is 
about  twenty  feet  in  diameter  I  should  say.  It  looked 
strangely  enough  in  there,  the  darkness  beginning  a 
very  little  way  above  one,  and  the  round  opening  at 
the  top  showing  a  clear  circle  of  sky,  but  the  light  did 
not  seem  to  penetrate  the  chimney  except  at  the  side 
openings  on  the  ground.  I  sounded  an  echo,  —  at  once 
the  chimney  caught  it  up  and  the  sound  went  beating 
back  and  forth,  as  if  it  were  a  bird  flying  against  the 
walls  and  finally  disappearing  at  the  top.  Shrill  notes 
and  whistles  could  scarely  be  heard ;  the  full  notes 
echoed  very  finely.  There  was  a  remarkable  leap  to 
the  sound,  and  double  notes,  notes  given  in  quick  suc 
cession,  were  repeated  with  great  distinctness.  It  was 
the  most  extraordinary  echo  I  ever  heard.  You  should 
hear  it,  Miss  Lovering." 

"  I  should  like  to.  But  I  must  bid  you  good-morn 
ing  now,  Mrs.  Blake.  I  am  sure  I  must  have  kept 
away  some  spiritual  visitors." 

"  Ah,  my  dear,  I  like  flesh  and  blood  best,  and  I  only 
like  my  ghosts  when  I  can  seem  to  have  them  alive. 
Come  often,  please." 

"  You  never  knew  Miss  Lovering  in  Kingston,  Nich 
olas,  I  think  you  said,"  Mrs.  Blake  continued  to  her 
nephew,  when  the  young  lady  had  left  them. 

"  I  used  to  see  her  at  church  and  occasionally  else 
where,''  said  he,  "  but  I  never  spoke  to  lu-r.  It  was  a 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  189 

great  surprise  to  me  to  find  she  was  here  and  a  grand 
daughter  of  Dr.  Checker.  I  knew  one  of  her  aunts  a 
little.  She  was  one  of  the  few  who  ever  said  much  to 
me." 

"  Miss  Lovering  has  told  me  about  her  aunts,"  said 
Mrs.  Blake,  "  and  I  think  I  should  like  to  know  them. 
What  were  their  names  ?" 

"  They  were  Miss  Miriam  and  Miss  Rebecca." 

"  How  old  were  they  ?  " 

"  Miss  Miriam,  I  should  think,  was  sixty,  and  her 
sister  two  years  younger." 

"  Light,  or  dark  ?  " 

"  Miss  Miriam  was  rather  fair  and  had  gray  eyes. 
Her  hair  was  gray,  and  she  always  dressed  in  a  dark 
buown,  rather  stiff  sort  of  stuff.  Miss  Rebecca  was 
more  timid  iu  her  appearance  ;  but  she  had  a  sharp 
nose,  and  the  end  of  it  moved." 

"  What ! " 

"  The  end  of  it  moved.  I  used  to  sit  in  church 
where  I  could  see  them,  and  I  used  to  notice  Miss  Re 
becca's  nose." 

"  Nicholas,  we  won't  talk  about  Miss  Rebecca's  nose. 
It 's  too  personal.  Did  either  of  them  look  like  their 
niece?" 

"  I  used  to  think  Miss  Miriam  looked  like  her.  She 
had  just  the  same  decided  way,  too,  that  Miss  Sally 
Lovering  has.  I  used  to  wonder  if  Miss  Sally  would 
look  like  her  when  she  was  old." 

"  Well,  well,  thank  you,  Nicholas.  I  begin  to  see 
them,"  and  Mrs.  Blake,  from  these  rather  indefinite 
data,  began  to  frame  in  her  mind  the  two  ancient 
maidens ;  yet,  as  the  young  girl  constantly  came  up 
before  her  eyes  and  shaded  off  into  her  elder  aunt,  it 
is  probable  that  her  imagination,  like  that  of  her 
nephew,  found  its  most  substantial  support  in  the 
actuality  of  the  visible  Miss  Lovering. 


190  THE  DWELLERS  IN 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

IT  was  something  more  than  a  coincidence  that 
Nicholas  Judge  had  his  seat  in  church  in  the  city 
where  he  could  see  the  niece  of  Misses  Lovering. 
Perhaps  the  same  charm  drew  him  to  the  little  church 
which  he  frequented,  as  acted  upon  Miss  Lovering,  but 
it  is  quite  certain  that  the  attraction  to  him  was  a 
steadfast  one.  He  had  chosen  his  seat  where  his  eyes, 
raised  to  the  preacher,  could  fall  with  ease  upon  the 
young  girl  whose  form  carried  so  much  of  pleasant  sug 
gestion  to  him.  Possibly  this  weekly  study  of  Miss 
Lovering's  hat,  shoulders,  and  back,  lay  at  the  basis  of 
his  confident  knowledge  when  he  climbed  the  hill  be 
hind  her.  At  any  rate,  though  he  did  not  probe  his 
own  mind  too  far,  he  was  aware  of  the  satisfaction  with 
which  his  eyes  rested  on  her  as  he  listened  to  sermon 
or  lessons.  He  learned  to  know  a  certain  curve  in  the 
side  of  her  face,  which  did  not  permit  him  to  see  her 
eye,  but  only  showed  where  the  eye  would  be  seen,  if 
the  face  were  turned  a  trifle  more.  It  was  a  contour 
line  of  real  beauty  to  him.  He  never  had  attempted 
to  sketch  Miss  Lovering.  He  did  not  draw  at  all,  yet 
often,  when  sitting  alone  in  his  laboratory,  his  pencil 
had  traced  the  line,  and  he  found  himself  comparing  it 
with  similar  contours  that  appeared  to  him  elsewhere ; 
it  was  a  pleasant  discovery  that  this  line  differed  in  all 
faces,  simple  as  it  was,  and  he  was  able  to  convince 
himself,  after  many  comparisons,  that  he  should  know 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  191 

it  wherever  he  saw  it,  so  individual  had  it  become  to 
him.  He  once  found  certain  studies  in  carbon  photo 
graphs,  of  old  masters,  and  though  he  had  little  knowl 
edge  of  art,  he  was  quick  to  see  how  much  this  line 
had  been  studied  by  the  great  painters. 

It  was  certainly  but  knowing  a  person  on  the 
horizon  only,  so  to  speak,  to  become  familiar  chiefly 
with  this  facial  line,  yet  the  imagination  often  builds 
most  completely  upon  some  such  simple  base.  Nicholas 
used,  when  service  was  over,  to  pass  out  without  seeking 
a  further  glimpse  and  without  asking  for  any  recogni 
tion  from  her. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  Miss  Levering  had  acquired 
any  special  knowledge  of  the  young  man  as  seen  from 
behind,  but  her  advantages  had  not  been  so  good. 
She  caught  sight  of  him  once  or  twice  in  the  congre 
gation,  as  it  moved  slowly  toward  the  door,  and  she 
was  conscious  of  retarding  her  own  movements  a  little 
to  avoid  any  possible  encounter  in  the  porch  ;  but  her 
precaution  was  unnecessary.  Her  neighbor  did  not 
wait  for  her,  or  linger  on  the  way  home,  and  the  ap 
prehension  which  she  at  first  felt  was  quieted  and 
indeed  disappeared  wholly,  giving  place  to  a  certain 
indistinct  recognition  of  his  delicacy.  Once,  coming 
upon  him  unexpectedly  when  he  had  been  detained  by 
an  acquaintance  near  the  church  door,  she  gave  him  a 
hurried  bow,  and  the  young  man,  as  he  walked  home, 
keeping  his  eye  on  her  graceful  figure  before  him, 
measuring  his  face  by  hers,  found  something  in  the  bow 
which  he  was  obliged  to  confess  in. franker  mood  was 
never  deposited  in  it  by  the  giver.  But  after  this, 
making  use  of  a  slight  manoeuvre,  he  delayed  his  own 
return,  making  a  detour  of  streets  which  brought  him 
presently  a  suitable  distance  behind  her,  so  that  he 
Could  enjoy  in  his  walk  something  of  the  pleasure  which 
blended  with  his  morning  worship. 


192  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

On  the  Sunday  after  Miss  Lovering's  visit  to  his 
aunt,  Nicholas  took  his  customary  place,  yet  something 
had  gone  out  of  the  satisfaction  which  he  had  heen 
used  to  have  in  his  half-dreamy  attention,  and  he  tried 
to  persuade  himself  that  it  was  less  in  his  own  somewhat 
uneasy  mind,  than  in  the  restlessness  of  Miss  Levering, 
who  had  lost  so  much  of  her  wonted  quiet,  that  he  was 
almost  ready  to  believe  that  his  long  continued  gaze  had 
at  length  penetrated  her  in  some  mysterious  fashion, 
and  rendered  her  conscious  that  she  was  being  gazed 
upon.  So  much  did  this  uneasy  feeling  affect  him  that 
he  shifted  his  own  position,  and  by  an  effort  hid  him 
self  from  seeing  her.  But  after  service  he  made  his 
customary  detour,  and  corning  again  upon  the  main 
street,  discovered  Miss  Levering  before  him,  and  with 
her,  a  companion  whom  he  saw  to  be  his  neighbor, 
Le  Clear.  The  apparition  was  not  a  quieting  one,  but 
it  held  his  attention  quite  as  much  as  the  solitary  fig 
ure  had  been  wont  to  hold  it.  He  watched  the  two  as 
they  walked,  and  if  he  interpreted  the  dumb  show  of 
their  gestures  and  movements,  it  was  only  to  see  that 
they  held  an  animated  conversatioji.  He  had  conceived 
a  dislike  for  Le  Clear  upon  sufficient  grounds  fur 
nished  by  that  neighbor  himself,  and  certainly  his  dis 
like  was  easily  reeuforced  by  what  he  was  pleased  to 
think  the  insolt-nt  ease  of  the  young  man  as  he  in 
clined  his  head  to  his  companion  and  looked  with  an 
amused  air  on  her. 

Nicholas  loitered  by  the  way,  but  as  they  came  near 
the  court,  suddenly  quickened  his  gait,  and  turning  into 
the  place  just  behind  the  pair,  stood  upon  his  own  door 
step  as  Miss  Lovering  turned  upon  hers  to  bid  her 
neighbor  good-by.  He  caught  her  eye,  as  he  poked 
the  key  abstractedly  into  its  opening,  and  bowed  awk 
wardly  ;  the  girl  replied  with  what  seemed  to  be  the 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  193 

remains  of  a  smile  just  given  to  some  word  of  Le 
dear's,  who  was  still  lingering  on  the  step. 

The  recluse  life  which  Nicholas  Judge  had  led  in 
Kingston,  and  the  scarcely  more  social  experience  which 
he  had  enjoyed  in  the  city,  had  so  far  formed  his  habits 
that  it  was  both  easier  and,  abstractly  considered, 
more  agreeable  to  enjoy  the  perfume,  so  to  speak,  of  a 
human  flower  like  Miss  Lovering,  at  a  gentle  distance, 
suffering  it  to  come  in  unsuspected  ways,  or  indulging 
in  such  approaches  as  could  scarcely  betray  to  the 
flower  itself  his  secret  pleasure ;  but  the  young  man 
was  not  so  ignorant,  or  so  careless,  as  to  suppose  that  he 
could  float  along  upon  a  stream  of  his  own  imagination 
and  find  himself  suddenly  advantageously  near  the  ob 
ject  of  his  hopes.  He  ate  his  dinner  in  silence  and 
sat  alone  in  his  room,  but  suddenly,  upon  an  impulse 
which  he  was  fain  to  refer  to  that  class  of  personal 
revelations  which  have  a  destiny  in  them,  he  dressed 
himself  and  went  over  to  Dr.  Checker's  house. 

He  had  never  called  on  Miss  Lovering,  nor  indeed 
asked  if  he  might,  —  heretofore  he  had  rather  dallied 
with  the  pleasure  of  the  acquaintance  than  resolutely 
grasped  it  with  a  purpose.  He  sent  up  a  card  on  which 
he  wrote,  "  Will  Miss  Lovering  let  Mr.  Judge  show 
her  the  chimney  this  afternoon.  The  echo  is  at  its 
best."  He  remained  where  Maria  unceremoniously 
left  him,  in  the  dark  passage,  until  she  returned  with 
Miss  Lovering's  card.  "  I  am  very  sorry  I  must  de 
cline,  but  I  have  accepted  another  invitation."  Nich 
olas  put  the  card  in  his  pocket  and  walked  away. 

"  It  was  a  weak  performance,"  he  said  to  himself ; 
"  Why  did  I  not  ask  to  see  her ! "  but  he  knew  very 
well  that  he  felt  more  confidence  in  his  ability  to 
write  a  short  sentence  on  his  card,  than  to  do  so  simple 
a  thing  as  ask  Miss  Lovering  to  walk  with  him.  He 
13 


194  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

walked  away  from  the  court  and  tried  to  outwalk  the 
feeling  of  having  been  rebuffed,  —  a  feeling  which  was 
in  advance  of  other  feelings  when  he  left  Dr.  Checker's 
house.  His  walk  took  him  countryward,  and  he  chose 
for  the  end  of  it  a  ledge  of  rocks  which  he  had  often 
visited,  called  Tommy's  Rocks  and  enjoying  a  some 
what  nebulous  tradition  of  having  been  the  hiding-place 
of  a  certain  Tommy,  who  was  variously  represented,  ac 
cording  to  the  imagination  of  the  story-teller  as  a  bur 
glar,  a  pirate,  a  miser,  a  hermit,  and  a  disappointed 
lover.  The  ledge  was  a  rough  place  surrounded  by 
suburban  lanes  that  straggled  toward  it  with  houses  that 
had  the  air  of  intending,  when  they  grew  stronger,  to 
climb  the  hill ;  footpaths  rambled  over  it,  and  one  or 
two  shanties  had  been  planted  upon  it  by  adventurous 
pioneers.  Tommy  himself  had  long  since  left  his  rocks. 
The  charm  of  the  place  was  in  its  scraggy  contrast  to 
the  refinement  about  it,  and  in  the  extensive  view  which 
it  commanded.  The  afternoon  was  a  bright  anticipa 
tion  of  the  spring  that  was  not  yet  quite  due.  Nicholas 
found  a  dry  rock  upon  which  he  sat  half  reclining,  and 
looking  off  upon  the  country  which  stretched  beyond. 
A  path  ran  a  little  below  him,  and  every  now-  and  then 
small  companies  of  people  would  pass  along  it,  bearing 
little  twigs  or  other  trophies,  as  if  they  were  so  many 
^doves,  shut  up  during  the  winter,  now  trying  the  world 
»  of  out-doors  and  carrying  back  olive  branches  of  hope 
to  those  who  might  doubt  the  actual  coming  of  spring. 
He  watched  the  groups,  when  suddenly  he  heard  famil 
iar  voices  and  then  he  saw  Miss  Fix  and  Mr.  Wind- 
graff  strolling  along  the  path.  He  picked  up  a  pebble 
to  toss  at  them,  then  withdrew  his  hand  and  watched 
them  move  down  the  rough  slope.  He  followed  them 
with  his  eye  and  saw  the  German  give  Miss  Fix  his 
hand,  that  she  might  jump  down  the  occasional  steps 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  195 

that  came  in  the  path.  They  passed  beyond  his  sight, 
and  he  rose  to  see  them  again,  and  when  they  again 
disappeared,  he  gathered  himself  together  and  also 
went  down  the  ledge  into  the  road.  He  remembered 
the  chimney  and  thought  he  would  take  it  on  his  way 
home.  It  was  not  very  far  from  Tommy's  Rocks,  and 
as  he  followed  the  road  he  met  little  groups  all  along 
the  way.  It  was  evident  that  the  charm  of  the  after 
noon  had  drawn  many  out  of  doors,  and  as  evening  drew 
near,  they  were  making  their  way  homeward.  Some 
of  the  groups  came  from  the  chimney  itself,  as  he  per 
ceived,  for  he  was  not  the  only  one  who  had  discovered 
the  singular  ruin,  and  as  he  entered  the  field  in  which 
it  stood,  he  saw  one  and  another  coming  away.  A  sin 
gle  house  stood  at  the  outer  edge  of  the  field.  The 
great  height  of  the  chimney  seemed  to  have  been  meas 
ured  by  the  eye  and  no  one  had  ventured  to  live  within 
the  range  of  its  possible  fall.  Nicholas  scrambled  over 
the  loose  stones  and  as  he  came  to  the  opening  he 
heard  voices  within.  He  could  not  hear  the  echo,  but 
he  stepped  through  the  rude  arched  entrance  and  at 
that  moment  heard  echoes  flying  upward  to  the  little 
opening  above.  There  were  two  persons  there  and  in 
the  dusky  shade  he  did  not  at  first  recognize  them.  He 
was  himself  more  quickly  perceived  by  those  whose 
eyes  had  grown  accustomed  to  the  shadow,  and  he  heanj 
his  name  called.  In  a  moment,  "  Mr.  Judge  "  went 
springing  up  the  chimney,  losing  its  articulate  form  as 
it  rose  and  followed  by  little  laughs  that  came  out 
spontaneously  at  the  unpremeditated  effect. 

"  Oh,  Miss  Levering,  Mr.  Le  Clear,"  said  Nicholas,  and 
these  names,  also  confusedly  blended,  knocked,  flutter 
ing,  against  the  sides  of  the  chimney  and  grew  faint  in 
the  distance.  They  all  remained  a  few  moments  more 
in  the  chimney,  uttering  such  sounds  as  occurred  to 


196  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

them,  but  giving  up  any  idea  of  conversation,  so  dis 
tracting  was  the  effect.  Nicholas  was  the  first  to  leave, 
and  the  others  followed  at  once. 

"  The  whole  court  pretty  much  has  been  here,"  said 
Le  Clear.  "  Miss  Fix  and  Mr.  Windgraff  left  just  be 
fore  you  came.  You  met  them,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  Not  here,"  said  Nicholas.  "  I  saw  them  some  time 
ago  on  Tommy's  Rocks.  I  did  not  know  they  were 
coming  here." 

"  Miss  Lovering,  I  suspect,  was  the  moving  cause  of 
oar  all  coming  here.  At  any  rate,  I  heard  of  it  from 
her." 

"  Mr.  Judge  himself  told  me  of  it,"  said  Miss  Lover- 
ing,  who  stood  with  her  skirts  gathered  in  her  hand,  as 
if  impatient  to  go. 

"  Ah,"  said  Le  Clear,  raising  his  eyebrows.  "  Have 
you  been  performing  experiments  here,  Mr.  Judge  ? 
But  there  is  not  much  left  of  the  day,"  and  he  gave 
Miss  Lovering  his  hand  to  help  her  down  the  steep 
descent.  She  turned  and  looked  at  Nicholas. 

"  Good  evening,"  said  he.  "  I  am  going  to  try  an- 
. other  way  home,"  and  turning  away  he  went  a  little 
higher  up.  He  could  see  the  two  figures  rapidly  de 
scending  the  slope.  They  left  the  field  and  entered  the 
road  which  would  carry  them  quite  directly  back  to 
Five-Sisters  Court.  For  himself,  he  felt  in  no  haste. 
He  lingered  about  the  chimney.  He  entered  it  again 
and  tried  the  echoes  once  more.  Then  he  found  an 
other  way  out  of  the  field  and  strolled  by  a  roundabout 
way  back  to  the  city.  The  darkness  came  on,  the 
street  lamps  were  lighted,  and  as  he  heard  again  the 
noise  of  cars  and  wagons  and  coaches,  and  was  shut  in 
by  houses,  he  felt  a  strong  desire  to  get  away  from  the 
city  and  go  back  to  Kingston.  He  was  oppressed  by 
the  city,  and  the  touch  of  spring  which  the  day  had 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  197 

held  seemed  to  bring  the  outline  of  Round  Top  very 
close. 

As  he  opened  the  door  to  his  aunt's  house,  what  was 
his  surprise  at  seeing  Miss  Lovering  upon  the  other 
side  just  preparing  to  leave. 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Judge,"  said  she.  "  I  am  so  glad  you  have 
come."  There  was  a  look  of  trouble  in  her  face,  and 
she  went  on  with  trembling  voice :  "  Your  aunt  has 
been  taken  suddenly  ill."  Nicholas  started  to  pass  her, 
then  stopped  and  impulsively  took  her  hand. 

"  She  sent  for  you  ?     You  were  going  for  me  ?  " 

"  She  does  not  know,"  whispered  the  girl.  "  Han 
nah  was  away.  Mrs.  Starkey  went  to  find  Miss  Fix  ; 
she  was  out  also.  She  came  then  for  me,  just  as  I  had 
reached  home,  and  I  came  here.  I  was  going  for  a 
doctor.  Do  let  me  go  for  him,  while  you  go  to  Mrs. 
Blake." 

"  Stay  a  moment,  here,  Miss  Lovering,"  said  Nich 
olas,  and  he  hurried  up-stairs.  Mrs.  Starkey  was  in  his 
aunt's  room.  The  windows  had  been  thrown  open  as 
if  to  bring  in  more  air.  Mrs.  Blake  lay  in  her  bed, 
motionless,  while  Mrs.  Starkey  was  sitting  patiently  at 
the  bedside,  watching  for  any  sign.  Nicholas  looked 
at  his  aunt,  listened  to  her  breathing,  and  then  leaving 
the  room,  beckoned  Mrs.  Starkey  to  him. 

"  When  was  it  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  An  hour  or  less  ago.  I  was  reading  to  her  and 
she  had  been  speaking,  when  suddenly  her  voice  grew 
thick  and  then  stopped  altogether.  I  did  not  know 
what  to  do.  No  one  was  in  the  house  but  myself.  At 
length  I  left  her  and  ran  to  Miss  Fix,  but  she  was  not 
at  home.  I  sent  Gretchen  for  Miss  Lovering,  and  she 
was  not  in.  Then  I  waited.  Then  I  asked  Gretchen 
to  stay  while  I  ran  to  see  Dr.  Checker.  That  time 
Miss  Lovering  had  just  come  in.  She  came  and  opened 
the  window  and  said  she  would  go  for  the  doctor." 


198  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  I  am  going  myself,"  said  Nicholas,  "  but  I  will  ask 
Miss  Lovering  to  stay  with  you."  He  went  down 
again  and  found  Miss  Loveriug  waiting  where  he  had 
left  her.  She  looked  up  at  him  anxiously. 

" I  think  it  is  paralysis,"  said  he ;  "I  am  going  for 
the  doctor*  but  will  you  stay  with  Mrs.  Starkey  ?  " 

"  Willingly,"  said  she,  "  or  I  will  go  to  the  doctor's. 
Really  I  would,  it  is  not  very  dark." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Nicholas,  "  you  are  very  good. 
I  will  ask  you  to  stay  here."  At  this  moment  Hannah 
appeared  in  the  door-way. 

"  It  is  not  necessary  now  that  you  should  stay,"  said 
he,  hurriedly,  "  yet  if  you  would  "  —  She  began  to 
remove  her  hat.  Nicholas  explained  to  Hannah  briefly 
that  his  aunt  was  seriously  ill,  that  Miss  Lovering 
would  stay  with  Mrs.  Starkey,  and  that  she  was  to  re 
main  near  the  door  ready  to  answer  any  call  which 
might  be  made  upon  her.  Then  he  went  quickly  for 
his  aunt's  doctor,  who  promised  to  call  without  delay. 
Nicholas  did  not  wait  for  him ;  he  was  in  no  mood  for 
talk,  and  as  he  returned,  he  scarcely  knew  why  he  lin 
gered  by  the  way,  and  even  increased  the  length  of  his 
walk.  He  was  dimly  conscious  of  a  sense  of  satisfac 
tion  in  knowing  that  the  young  girl  who  had  been  so 
much  in  his  mind  that  day,  was  sitting  in  his  house,  by 
the  bedside  of  his  aunt.  It  was  a  strange  mixture  of 
feelings  which  possessed  him.  He  was  almost  angry 
with  himself  that  he  should  suffer  any  personal  pleasure 
to  crowd  out  the  thought  of  the  invalid  lying  helpless, 
yet  he  returned  again  and  again  to  the  waking  dream 
which  had,  almost  unknown  to  him,  gained,  little  by 
little,  a  very  full  ascendency  over  him.  It  was  the 
sense  of  this  reality  in  his  own  mind  which  now  affected 
him  strangely.  It  was  as  if  he  had  thrown  aside  any 
disguise  in  which  he  had  been  concealing  his  imagina- 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  199 

tion  from  his  reason,  and  had  frankly  admitted  his  en 
tire  mind  to  a  participation  in  his  secret.  In  vain  his 
reason  whispered  its  little  protest  that  Miss  Lovering's 
kindness  and  apparent  docility  were  but  the  generous 
impulse  of  a  girl  appealed  to  suddenly  in  a  time  of 
trouble  ;  he  refused  at  this  hour  to  suffer  any  doubt, 
and  as  if  to  intrench  himself  more  firmly,  he  excluded 
the  last  scene  from  his  thought  and  fell  back  on  his 
own  long,  patient,  and  silent  admiration  of  the  girl 
which  had  gained  such  volume  that  he  could  no  longer 
resist  it. 

He  reached  the  court  again  just  as  the  physician 
entered  it,  and  they  passed  into  the  house  together, 
and  up-stairs.  Mrs.  Starkey  and  Miss  Lovering  with 
drew  from  the  room.  Nicholas  did  not  enter  it,  but 
followed  Miss  Lovering  as  she  passed  down-stairs. 

"  Let  us  wait  here  for  the  doctor,"  said  he ;  and  they 
stood  where  he  had  left  her  when  she  took  his  place 
with  his  aunt.  The  passage  was  dimly  lighted  only, 
and  Miss  Lovering,  sitting  upon  the  stair,  could  not 
perceive  the  ardent  look  with  which  the  young  man, 
leaning  against  the  rail,  regarded  her,  while  he,  shading 
his  eyes,  could  see  every  expression  of  her  figure,  and 
even  catch  something  of  the  look  in  her  face. 

"  Has  she  moved  since  I  went  ? "  he  asked,  in  a 
low  voice. 

"  No.     She  has  breathed  heavily  but  steadily." 

"  Did  it  not  seem  a  long  time  before  the  doctor 
came  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  very  long.  I  wanted  Mrs.  Starkey  to  lie 
down,  but  she  would  not." 

"  You  are  very  good.  And  yet  "  —  he  hesitated,  as 
if  embarrassed  by  possible  misconstruction  of  his  words 
— "  there  is  something  in  sickness  or  trouble  which 
always  makes  one  thoughtful  of  others."  There  was 
the  least  perceptible  smile  on  Miss  Lovering's  face. 


200  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  Your  aunt  has  been  more  than  kind  to  me,"  she 
said.  "  Indeed,  I  can  remember  when,  years  ago,  I  was 
at  my  grandfather's  for  a  few  months,  she  let  me  come 
to  see  her  and  told  me  stories." 

"  She  told  me  that .  herself,"  said  Nicholas,  eagerly. 
"  She  told  me  before  you  came  this  time,  and  it  was  a 
great  delight  to  her  to  see  you  again."  The  doctor  at 
this  moment  came  down  the  stairs,  and  Miss  Lovering 

x  O 

rose.  He  was  a  silent  man  who  rarely  gave  his  patients 
or  their  attendants  any  explanation,  but  only  instruc 
tions  which  they  were  to  follow  implicitly.  He  pre 
sumed  Mrs.  Blake  to  have  had  an  attack  of  paralysis ; 
he  would  be  in  again,  later  in  the  evening,  and  mean 
while  he  gave  a  few  directions  as  to  the  care  to  be 
taken.  Miss  Levering  took  her  hat  and  cloak,  when 
he  had  gone,  and  made  ready  to  follow. 

"  It  is  only  a  step,"  she  said,  as  she  saw  Nicholas 
preparing  to  attend  her. 

"  Then  the  less  of  a  favor  to  me,"  said  he,  smiling. 
Indeed  the  walk  across  the  court  was  so  short  that 
the  young  man  had  said  nothing  when  they  reached 
Dr.  Checker's  door.  He  held  out  his  hand. 

"  If  I  can  be  of  any  further  use  "  —  said  Miss  Lover- 
ing. 

"I  shall  not  hesitate  to  ask  your  help,"  said  he 
finishing  her  sentence  in  his  own  words.  "  You  have 
been  of  the  greatest  use  already  to  my  aunt  —  and 
to  me.  May  I  come  to  tell  you  how  she  is  in  the 
morning  ?  " 

"  You  may  not  be  able  to  leave  her." 

"  If  I  am  not,  you  will  know  how  much  worse  she 
is." 

But  Mrs.  Blake  remained  the  same  throughout  the 
night  and  the  next  morning.  She  was  very  still,  and 
she  had  the  use  of  her  hand  though  she  could  not  speak. 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  201 

Nicholas  told  her,  at  her  request,  in  a  few  words,  what 
had  passed  the  night  before  and  added, — 

"  I  told  Miss  Levering  I  would  let  her  know  how 
you  were  this  morning."  Mrs.  Blake  motioned  for 
paper  and  pencil,  and  with  difficulty  wrote  the  words  — 
"  I  send  you  my  morning  rose.  E.  B."  Nicholas  took 
the  writing,  and  stooping  over,  kissed  his  aunt  and  left 
the  house.  When  he  asked  for  Miss  Lovering  at  her 
grandfather's  house,  he  at  that  moment  heard  her  voice 
above,  singing  at  her  piano.  Maria  told  him  in  her 
abrupt  way,  "  She  's  in  the  parlor,"  and  ignoring  his 
hesitation,  turned  her  back  upon  him,  leaving  him  to 
find  his  way,  an  easy  matter  for  him,  acquainted  as  he 
was  with  the  common  plan  of  this  house  and  his  aunt's. 

When  he  entered  the  parlor  Miss  Lovering  was  still 
seated  at  the  instrument.  .  With  a  secret  which  he  was 
not  ready  to  confide  to  her,  he  could  yet  discover  a  new 
pleasure  for  himself  in  each  fresh  encounter.  In  his 
own  mind  it  was  much  as  if  he  were  an  accepted  lover, 
not  from  any  over  confidence  on  his  part,  but  because 
he  had  frankly  admitted  to  himself  that  there  could  no 
longer  be  any  reason  to  conceal  the  fact  of  his  admira 
tion  from  himself.  When  he  saw  her  therefore  now  ia 
her  morning  dress,  it  was  with  a  new  delight.  He 
reached  forth  his  hand  to  her. 

"My  aunt  is  not  worse,  <at  any  rate,"  he  said.  "  See, 
she  has  sent  you  her  rose,"  and  he  placed  the  rose-bud 
in  her  hand,  with  his  aunt's  cramped  message  wrapped 
about  the  stem. 

"  But  she  will  miss  her  rose,  I  am  afraid.  She  spoke 
of  it  so  pleasantly  to  me  the  other  day." 

"  She  has  so  delicate  a  sense  of  smell,"  said  Nicholas, 
"that  perhaps  she  will  be  reminded  of  it  now  and  then 
during  the  day,  and  will  perceive  where  it  is."  Miss 
Lovering  went  to  a  vase  and  placed  her  rose  in  it,  — 
so  doing  discovered  the  writing  on  the  paper. 


202  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  Ah,"  said  she,  "  she  really  cared  so  much  as  to  send 
a  special  message.  Can  you  take  one  in  return?" 
She  reflected  a  moment. 

"  I  can  carry  words,"  said  Nicholas,  "  and  even  par 
cels.  I  assure  you  I  am  excellent  at  carrying  parcels." 

"  Oh,  I  was  not  doubting  your  ability,"  she  laughed. 
"  I  was  thinking  how  little  there  was  one  could  send 
your  aunt." 

"  If  you  could  send  her  a  piece  of  pure  whiteness, 
now,"  said  Nicholas,  "  I  know  nothing  else  that  would 
please  her  so  much." 

"  It  would  take  a  little  time,"  said  Miss  Lovering. 

"  I  shall  be  happy  to  wait." 

"  Then  if  you  will  sit  down,  I  will  try."  She  took 
a  bit  of  fine  cambric  and  some  white  silk  and  began 
deftly  sketching  with  her  nee,dle,  while  Nicholas  looked 
on  with  admiration. 

"  You  make  me  think  of  a  story  I  once  read  called 
'  The  Emperor's  New  Clothes,' "  said  he.  "  Perhaps 
you  know  it  ?  Your  cambric  and  silk  are  almost  in 
visible,  and  I  may  admire  the  web  to  my  heart's  con 
tent." 

"  Or  be  in  danger  of  being  counted  unfit  for  your 
place  ?  "  she  added,  looking  up. 

"There  would  be  some  uncertainty  what  place  I 
filled  beyond  that  of  a  dutiful  nephew,  and  I  do  not 
mean  to  be  driven  out  of  that.  I  confess,  though,  that 
yesterday  afternoon,  I  did  cherish  an  almost  traitorous 
notion  of  deserting  my  aunt ;  the  country  looked  very 
enchanting  to  me." 

"  I  feel  something  of  the  same  creaking  of  the  wings," 
said  she.  "  I  have  been  told  that  when  I  was  here  as  a 
child  I  behaved  very  well  through  the  winter,  but  when 
spring  came,  I  began  to  droop,  and  needed  the  country 
air  to  revive  me.  But  I  suppose  I  have  more  self-con 
trol  now." 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  203 

"  I  do  not  believe  it  is  something  over  which  we  have 
entire  control.  For  my  part  I  feel  the  daily  walk  I 
take  into  the  country  as  a  necessity  ;  when  I  miss  it, 
something  has  gone  out  of  the  day." 

"  But  you  cannot  go  very  far  into  the  country." 

"  Far  enough  to  leave  the  city  behind,  and  that  is  the 
main  thing.  It  is  like  stepping  out  of  doors.  One 
does  not  need  to  go  much  beyond  his  door  in  the  coun 
try  to  get  a  draught  of  fresh  air.  Here,  I  am  not 
sure  that  I  am  breathing  until  I  have  left  the  pavement 
behind." 

"  Why  then  did  you  come  to  the  ci£y  at  all,  Mr. 
Judge  ?  "  Nicholas  was  silent  a  moment. 

"  I  came  for  the  same  reason  that  keeps  me  —  a 
need  of  human  companionship.  When  my  father  died, 
although  I  knew  scarcely  any  one  in  Kingston,  I  felt 
unutterably  lonely.  Pardon  me  for  speaking  of  my 
own  affairs,  but  I  cannot  help  remembering  that  it  was 
a  single  kind  word  of  your  aunt,  Miss  Miriam  Lovering, 
that  gave  me  the  impulse  to  come  here.  Then,  besides, 
I  suppose  I  had  an  honest  desire  to  see  the  city,  and 
realize  some  of  my  fancies  regarding  it.  I  was  restless, 
and  I  suppose  I  am  still,  and  that  this  is  the  reason,  in 
part,  why  I  thought  yesterday  I  should  like  to  go  back. 
But  I  know  very  well  I  do  not  want  to  go  back." 

"  And  does  the  city  give  you  all  that  you  expected  ?  " 

"  Yes,  and  some  things  I  had  not  looked  for.  What 
surprises  me  is  that  it  is  not  the  new  things  which  in 
terest  me  most,  but  whatever  reminds  me  of  my  old 
home.  I  saw  a  picture  the  other  day,  of  Round  Top, 
and  I  stood  before  it  for  an  hour.  I  think  it  was  a 
good  picture ;  at  any  rate  I  know  I  learned  more  about 
pictures  from  it  than  I  have  ever  been  able  to  learn 
from  the  visits  I  have  made  to  different  collections  and 
picture  stores.  It  is  so  with  church.  I  fancied  a  homely 


204  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

sort  of  likeness  between  the  St.  John's  of  Kingston,  and 
the  St.  John's  here,  beside  the  mere  identity  of  names, 
and  so  I  have  contentedly  continued  there,  in  spite  of 
what  might  be  called  greater  attractions  elsewhere." 

"  I  felt  the  likeness,  too,"  said  Miss  Levering,  looking 
up  with  real  pleasure ;  "  and  so  I  have  been  there." 

u  I  have  noticed  you  there,"  said  Nicholas,  content 
ing  himself  with  so  diffident  a  statement  of  his  weekly 
unremitting  gaze.  "  But  after  all,  what  gives  the  city 
its  chief  interest  to  me  aside  from  these  personal  mat 
ters,  is  the  multitude  of  people.  I  am  nothing  to  them 
and  they  are  nothing  to  me,  so  I  can  look  at  them  and 
watch  them  to  my  heart's  content.  At  home  the  few 
people  whom  I  saw  thought  they  knew  all  about  me, 
and  I  had  settled  impressions  concerning  each  one,  and 
I  felt  under  restraint.  Perhaps  if  I  had  known  them 
it  might  have  been  different.  I  read  my  books,  but 
since  I  came  to  the  city  books  have  seemed  a  little  un 
real.  I  don't  believe  they  can  be  enjoyed  in  a  city  so 
thoroughly  as  in  the  country.  I  believe  if  I  wrote 
books  or  read  them  much  I  should  live  in  a  cell.  They 
seem  to  drive  out  human  companionship." 

"  Don't  you  think  they  help  to  bring  people  to 
gether  ?  " 

•  "  No,  I  do  not.  People  fancy  they  do.  They  think 
because  they  read  the  same  books,  that  they  have  a 
certain  common  taste,  but  people  do  not  really  come 
together  on  that  ground.  That  is  a  sort  of  false  bot 
tom  on  which  most  people  are  content  to  rest.  They 
hear  and  like  the  same  music,  look  at  the  same  pictures, 
read  the  same  books,  and  fancy  that  they  are  now  in 
sympathy  with  each  other,  but  really  all  these  things 
prevent  them  from  finding  a  real,  substantial  community. 
It  is  the  way  people  act  toward  one  another  in  emer 
gencies,  or  the  way  they  have  of  doing  the  same  things 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  205 

which  show  whether  they  are  like  one  another  or  not. 
Then  they  can  afford  to  differ  in  matters  of  taste. 
But  I  can  think  of  no  greater  misery  than  for  two  peo 
ple  to  think  they  care  for  each  other  because  their  tastes 
agree,  and  suddenly  to  discover  that  their  natures  are 
really  antagonistic ;  that  one,  for  example,  is  wholly 
selfish,  the  other  wholly  forgetful  of  self.  But  how 
oracularly  I  am  talking.  May  I  see  what  figure  is 
climbing  over  that  cambric?"  Miss  Lovering  gave  him 
her  work,  and  he  held  it  carefully. 

"  It  is  sweet  pea,  is  it  not  ?  " 

"  Yes,  it  is ;  you  quite  encourage  me  by  discovering 
the  likeness,  especially  as  there  is  no  color  in  my  sketch, 
a  white  sweet  pea  vine  on  a  white  ground  is  not  remark 
ably  near  to  nature." 

'•  What  made  you  choose  this  flower  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  generally  take  the  first  subject  that  occurs  to 
me,"  said  she. 

"  And  you  happened  to  think  of  Miss  Lovering's 
garden  in  front  of  the  house  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  she,  in  great  surprise. 

"  And  of  your  last  summer's  hat  ?  "  Her  face  clouded ; 
then  she  laughed. 

"  Do  you  think  that  all  our  ideas  of  nature  are  con 
nected  with  millinery  ?  " 

"  I  don't  think  the  transition  in  this  case  was  a  very 
violent  one.  But  you  have  chosen  a  special  favorite 
of  my  aunt's."  He  made  haste  to  get  away  from  so  dar 
ing  a  revelation  as  that  he  bad  seen  and  taken  note  of 
Miss  Lovering's  last  summer's  hat.  "  She  was  speaking 
of  the  flower  to  me  the  other  day." 

"  It  is  done  now,"  said  Miss  Lovering.  "  It  is  per 
fectly  useless,  Mr.  Judge,  to  try  to  discover  any  moral 
value  or  practical  advantage  in  this  little  bit  of  cambric. 
It  is  as  mere  a  piece  of  folly  as  sweet  peas  in  a  summer 


206  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

hat,  if  you  ever  saw  such.  It  has  no  mortal  signifi 
cance  except  as  a  token  of  my  affection  for  Mrs.  Blake. 
So  if  you  will  take  it  to  her  with  my  love,  its  whole 
mission  will  be  accomplished."  The  young  man  took 
it,  and  looked  it  over  curiously. 

"  Do  you  regard  it  as  so  undemonstrative  that  I 
must  add  your  love  to  it,  when  I  give  it  to  my  aunt  ? 
I  think  you  called  it  a  token  of  affection.  But  I  will 
carry  both  safely,"  and  he  placed  the  cambric  in  his 
waistcoat  pocket.  As  he  was  about  leaving,  Dr. 
Checker,  who  moved  about  in  noiseless  carpet  slippers, 
suddenly  appeared  in  the  door-way. 

"  Hey,  hey,"  said  he  ;  "  how  's  your  aunt  ?  Your 
real  aunt,  I  mean." 

"  She  is  able  to  use  her  hand,  but  not  her  voice," 
said  he,  "  and  I  think  the  doctor  seems  a  little  encour 
aged." 

"  You  did  n't  treat  her  to  some  of  your  mixtures, 
did  you  ?  that 's  what  Manlius  would  have  said." 

"  I  have  not  such  a  superabundance  of  friends,  that 
I  wish  to  get  rid  of  any,"  said  Nicholas,  bidding  good- 
morning. 

"  I  like  that  young  man,  Sally,"  said  her  grand 
father,  when  Nicholas  had  left.  "  He 's  green,  but 
he 's  fresh,  too.  Now  where  is  my  pocket  handker 
chief.  I  've  been  hunting  all  over  the  house  for  it.  It 
is  n't  in  this  chest  is  it  ?  what  is  this  ?  I  never  saw 
this  before." 

"  It 's  a  music-box,"  said  his  granddaughter. 

"  What !  plays  all  by  itself  !  that 's  no  music.  Where 
did  you  get  it  ?  " 

"It's  not  mine,  grandfather.  It  was  lent  to  me  by 
our  next  door  neighbor,  Mr.  Le  Clear." 

"  H'm.  Does  he  get  his  flrasic  ground  ?  He's  too 
lazy,  is  n't  he,  to  play  himself  ?  " 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  207 

"  Oh,  the  music  is  n't  much,"  said  Sally ;  "  but  I  like 
to  hear  the  tinkle  of  it." 

"  Stick  to  your  piano,  Sally,"  said  the  old  gentleman, 
who  had  found  his  handkerchief,  and  was  toddling  off. 
"  Stick  to  your  piano.  There  is  n't  much  in  the  music, 
but  the  practice  is  good  for  something." 


208  THE  DWELLERS  IN 


CHAPTER  XV. 

MR.  LE  CLEAR  himself,  by  some  chance,  did  not 
put  himself  in  the  way  of  Dr.  Checker's  animadversions, 
which  fell  exclusively  upon  the  young  man's  innocent 
music-box.  He  found  it  an  easy  pleasure  to  spend 
the  evening  with  Miss  Lovering.  He  discovered  that 
she  was  almost  sure  to  be  at  home  at  that  time,  and 
alone.  He  could  hear  her  at  her  piano,  and  it  came  to 
be  a  signal  to  him  which  he  obeyed  with  cheerful 
alacrity.  He  lent  her  his  books  and  engravings,  and 
it  seemed  to  Miss  Lovering  that  she  never  expressed 
an  interest  in  any  matter  of  art,  or  literature,  or  music, 
but  Mr.  Le  Clear  was  reminded  of  some  little  thing 
which  he  had  that  illustrated  it;  and  the  next  day,  the 
book  with  a  leaf  turned  down,  or  a  photograph,  or  an 
autograph  letter  would  come,  to  be  recalled  by  the 
owner  when  he  came  himself  in  the  evening. 

It  was  not  long  after'  this  that  Mr.  Le  Clear  was 
discoursing  upon  some  book  illustrations  which  had  re 
cently  appeared,  and  were  a  touchstone,  in  his  estima 
tion,  of  the  artistic  taste  of  those  who  looked  at  them. 

"Just  let  me  run  to  my  room  a  moment,"  said  he, 
"  and  bring  a  little  book  I  have  which  shows  the  first 
poetry  and  philosophy  and  pictures  of  the  men  who 
have  made  this  school  what  it  is."  When  he  returned 
with  a  copy  of  "  The  Germ  "  in  his  hand,  he  was  an 
noyed  to  find  an  interloper  present  in  the  person  of  Mr. 
Judge,  who  had  come  to  bring  Miss  Lovering  the  latest 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  209 

« 

report  of  his  aunt's  condition,  as  he  averred.  Mr.  Le 
Clear  sat  turning  the  leaves  of  his  book,  and  waiting, 
apparently,  for  his  neighbor  to  dispatch  his  errand  and 
leave. 

"  Mr.  Le  Clear  has  been  expounding  the  principles 
of  the  Pre-Rafaelites  to  me,"  said  Miss  Lovering,  "  and 
had  just  gone  for  an  illustration  of  their  work  when 
you  came  in." 

"I  am  so  ignorant  as  to  know  nothing  of  the  Pre- 
Rafaelites,"  said  Nicholas.  "  The  name  sounds  like 
that  of  some  theological  sect.  Who  was  Prerafael?" 
Miss  Lovering  laughed. 

"  I  am  afraid  you  will  have  to  begin  at  first  princi 
ples  with  Mr.  Judge,  Mr.  Le  Clear;  and  I  am  sure 
nothing  could  be  more  in  harmony  with  the  Prera- 
faelite  school." 

"  I  beg  to  be  excused  from  giving  any  lecture  ou 
art,"  said  Le  Clear,  "  especially  of  an  elementary  char 
acter." 

"  You  believe,  then,"  she  asked, "  that  to  understand 
art  one  must  be  initiated  ?  " 

"  He  must  have  some  knowledge  of  what  a  picture 
undertakes  to  tell.  If  it  is  a  historical  picture,  and  he 
knows  nothing  of  history,  I  don't  see  what  he  can  find 
in  it  to  enjoy.  If  it  is  a  landscape,  to  be  sure,  he 
does  n't  require  any  particular  knowledge." 

"  Why  does  not  the  same  rule  apply  ?  "  asked  Nich 
olas.  "  A  person  may  have  looked  on  a  certain  part 
of  the  country  a  hundred  times,  buf  for  all  that  he  may 
never  have  seen  it.  An  artist,  I  suppose,  sees  it  at 
once  and  puts  it  into  his  picture,  and  there  any  one  will 
find  it  over  again  who  has  seen  the  same  thing  in 
nature,  but  he  need  not  have  seen  that  particular  sub 
ject,  and  he  may  have  looked  at  that  scene  a  hundred 
times,  and  be  able  to  recognize  the  spot  when  the  pict- 
14 


210  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

ure  is  placed  before  him,  but  he  won't  see  it  any  more 
in  the  picture  than  he  did  in  nature,  if  he  did  not  see 
it  there  in  the  first  place." 

"  I  will  resign  my  post  of  lecturer  on  the  fine  arts  to 
Mr.  Judge,  Miss  Lovering." 

"  Oh,  I  know  nothing  of  these  things,"  said  Nicholas. 
"  I  am  only  saying  what  came  into  my  head  as  I  looked 
at  a  picture  I  saw  the  other  day  of  a  scene  which  was 
familiar  to  me.  There  were  certain  shadows  in  it 
which  were  perfectly  true.  I  knew  just  what  hour  of 
the  day  the  picture  was  painted,  for  I  had  seen  those 
same  shadows  and  watched  them  change. " 

"  See  what  it  is  to  be  observing!"  exclaimed  Miss 
Lovering.  "  Now,  often  as  I  have  been  to  Miss  Fix's 
I  do  not  believe  I  could  draw  or  describe  the  pattern 
of  the  carpet  on  the  floor  of  her  parlor.  What  is  it, 
Mr.  Le  Clear  ?  " 

"  It  is  an  arabesque,  is  n't  it  ?  " 

"  It  is  an  oak-leaf  pattern,"  said  Nicholas  Judge, 
"  with  acorns  sprinkled  in." 

"  Yes,  I  think  it  is,"  said  Miss  Lovering. 

"  I  have  been  but  twice  to  Miss  Fix's,"  said  Le  Clear, 
"  and  neither  time  did  I  have  any  occasion  to  look 
down." 

"  I  suppose  I  must  have  noticed  the  carpet  when  I 
was  listening  to  music,"  said  Nicholas. 

"  When  you  were  trying  to  find  a  harmony  between 
the  colors  and  the  sound  ?  "  asked  Miss  Lovering,  look 
ing  up  from  her  work,  and  then  applying  herself  to  it 
very  busily  again.  "  Mr.  Judge  has  his  little  theory, 
Mr.  Le  Clear ;  we  all  have  our  little  theories  in  the 
court,  I  believe,  and  Mr.  Judge's  is  a  discovery  of  the 
harmony  which  exists  between  color  and  sound.  Have 
you  tried  any  experiments,  Mr.  Judge  ?  " 

"  Yes,"   said  Nicholas,  eagerly.      "  I    took    various 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  211 

colored  worsteds  that  Miss  Fix  had,  and  tried  them 
with  certain  chords.  Miss  Pix  and  Mr.  Windgraff  and 
I  tried  the  effect,  and  we  all  agreed  upon  the  same  har 
monies.  Let  us  try  it  now." 

"  But  I  have  no  worsteds,"  said  Miss  Lovering. 

"  Is  it  possible  ! "  said  Le  Clear.  "  Let  me  take 
your  hand,  Miss  Lovering.  I  have  lived  to  see  the  day 
when  a  lady  is  to  be  fouud  who  does  not  work  in  worst 
eds." 

"  I  am  very  sorry,"  said  she,  with  an  air  of  meekness. 
"  But  you  will  have  to  live  a  little  longer,  Mr.  Le 
Clear.  1  have  worked  in  worsteds,  and  the  only  rea 
son  I  have  none  now  is  that  I  have  used  up  all  I  had, 
working  them  into  this  rug  which  your  feet  are  on. 
Perhaps  you  are  trampling  under  foot  my  work,  you 
despise  it  so  much." 

"I  suppose  Mr.  Judge  would  see  or  hear  a  potpourri," 
in  this  rug,"  said  Le  Clear,  examining  it.  "  Did  you 
pick  up  your  theory  in  Kingston,  Mr.  Judge,  listening 
to  the  frogs  when  you  looked  at  a  marsh?  or  did  you 
mix  your  views  and  chemicals  at  the  same  time?  I 
went  to  see  an  artist  friend  of  mind,  to-day,  Miss  Lov 
ering —  I  must  show  you  some  of  his  studies  some  day  — 
and  found  him  hunting  over  a  pile  of  photographs  in 
search  of  one  which  he  remembered  for  a  certain  sug 
gestion  of  color  which  he  wanted.  He  remembered  it, 
just  as  you  or  I  might  recall,  without  being  able  to  re 
peat  it  exactly,  a  particular  passage  in  a  symphony  or 
a  poem.  I  confess  I  am  more  envious  of  artists  than 
of  any  one  else.  Given  the  instinctive  good  taste 
which  may  belong  to  others  besides  artists,  they  have 
the  capacity  of  jotting  down  in  line  or  color  this  or  that 
beauty  which  surprises  them  in  unexpected  places; 
they  have  not  merely  to  carry  it  in  their  memory, 
where  it  could  get  confused  with  a  thousand  other 


212  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

images,  but  they  can  make  a  few  lines  or  some  quick 
dashes  of  color  in  their  note-book,  and  there  the  mem 
orandum  remains.  In  fact  with  some  of  them,  I  think, 
finished  pictures  are  infrequent  because  their  sketches 
and  studies  satisfy  the  immediate  demand  to  catch  and 
hold  a  scene,  and  their  imagination  and  observation 
are  so  perpetually  at  work  that  they  have  no  leisure  to 
make  pictures." 

"  But  I  should  think  that  would  be  very  unsatisfac 
tory  to  an  artist,"  said  Miss  Levering.  "  I  should 
think  it  would  be  like  always  putting  things  in  order 
and  never  finding  time  to  do  anything.  You  see  I  am 
practical,  Mr.  Le  Clear,  and  I  know  what  it  is  to  put 
off  doing  what  I  want  to  do  until  I  have  finished  a 
number  of  little  odds  and  ends  that  would  haunt  me 
otherwise  by  their  incompleteness.  What  do  you  think, 
Mr.  Judge  ?  Should  n't  you  think  an  artist,  such  as 
Mr.  Le  Clear  describes,  would  be  followed  by  a  per 
petual  sense  of  always  getting  ready  to  do  something  ?  " 

"  I  don't  believe  a  true  artist  ever  would  let  himself 
be  satisfied  with  mere  memoranda,"  said  Nicholas,  "  for 
he  creates  as  well  as  records  ;  and  there  certainly  must 
come  a  time  when -the  passion  of  a  picture  would  seize 
him,  and  he  would  work  at  it  and  leave  his  little  jot 
tings  alone." 

"  Mr.  Judge's  fine  wisdom  is  wasted  this  time,"  said 
Le  Clear.  "  I  was  simply  asserting  that  an  artist  with 
an  eye  for  color  and  lines  was  perpetually  in  the  way 
of  taking  a  very  keen  delight  in  apparently  insignifi 
cant  things,  and  that  he  had,  so  to  speak,  a  great  deal 
more  capital  at  his  command  than  a  person  of  merely 
good  taste,  whose  occupation  had  not  trained  him  to 
notice  and  record  the  infinitely  varied  effects  in  nature 
or  common  life  or  street  architecture,  for  example.  I 
am  saying  nothing  about  what  an  artist  may  or  may 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  213 

not  do,  but  what  he  may  enjoy.  That's  what  makes 
an  artist's  life  so  enviable." 

Mr.  Le  Clear  was  standing  with  his  back  to  the  fire 
place,  and  Miss  Levering,  looking  up  from  her  work, 
was  suddenly  possessed  with  a  sense  of  the  admirable 
picture  which  the  young  man  made.  The  background 
was  not  all  that  could  be  desired,  but  otherwise  here 
was  a  most  excellent  subject  for  a  "  Portrait  of  a  Gen 
tleman."  The  artist  in  her  looked  with  a  certain  sud 
den  pleasure  upon  the  subject.  She  was  fain  to  cry, 
"Stay  as  you  are,  —  let  me  sketch  you,"  but  she  did  not 
utter  any  such  idle  word,  but  smiled  approvingly  at  the 
thought  of  the  capital  picture  it  would  make.  Mr.  Le 
Clear  caught  the  ingenuous  expression  and  stepped  for 
ward  to  her. 

"  Come,"  said  he,  holding  out  his  hand,  "  have  we 
not  had  talk  enough.  Let  me  take  your  sketching 
and  study  it  while  you  play."  She  rose  gayly,  gave 
him  her  work,  and  went  to  the  piano. 

"  You  are  not  going,  Mr.  Judge  ?  Does  my  music 
drive  you  away  ?  " 

"  I  must  go,"  said  Nicholas,  stumbling  over  a  chair. 
"  I  have  something  to  attend  to,"  and  with  that,  he 
made  his  way  out  of  the  room.  Mr.  Le  Clear  nodded 
to  him  as  he  left  and  fell  to  scanning  the  cambric  in 
his  hand. 

"  Is  this  a  reminiscence  of  Miss  Fix's  carpet  ? "  he 
asked,  looking  at  the  tracery  in  brown  silk  of  oak 
leaves  and  acorn  forms. 

"  I  think  it  must  be,"  said  Miss  Lovering.  "  I  was 
waiting  for  a  subject  with  my  needle  in  my  hand,  when 
we  were  speaking  of  it." 

"  Do  me  a  favor.  Let  me  read  to  you  the  first 
draft  of  Woolner's  poem, '  My  Beautiful  Lady,'  in  '  The 
Germ,'  while  you  finish  this  little  sketch  by  putting 


214  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

P  and  S  in  the  corner,  and  then  let  me  have  it  as  a 
souvenir  of  the  evening  I  first  had  the  pleasure  of 
hearing  music  with  you  beneath  the  Musical  Fund  at 
Miss  Fix's." 

"  What  is  P.  S.  for  ? "  she  asked,  as  she  sat  down 
and  took  up  her  work  again.  "  A  postscript  to  that 
evening  ?" 

"  Yes,  if  you  like  it  so,''  said  he.  Then  he  opened 
"  The  Germ  "  and  began  the  poem.  Le  Clear  was  an 
excellent  reader.  He  cultivated  a  low  and  finely  mod 
ulated  voice,  and  its  tones  were  certainly  musical.  The 
mystical,  half  interpreted  lines  of  the  poem,  which  pique 
the  ordinarily  inquisitive  reader,  he  read  with  the  air  at 
least  of  one  who  wished  to  give  the  full  meaning  that 
might  lie  in  them.  Miss  Levering  looked  up  now  and 
then  at  the  reader,  and  as  she  marked  the  earnestness 
with  which  his  face  accompanied  his  reading,  it  seemed 
to  her  that  she  never  had  seen  a  handsomer  or  more 
graceful  man,  and  as  her  acquaintances  were  few,  it  is 
quite  possible  that  she  never  had.  As  his  voice  ceased, 
there  was  silence  for  a  few  moments. 

"  The  complement  of  the  poem  is  in  this  picture  of 
Holman  Hunt's  which  is  prefixed,"  he  said,  showing  it 
to  her. 

"  I  am  afraid  the  picture  is  more  definite  to  me  than 
the  poem,"  she  answered,  after  looking  at  it  with  him. 
"  As  I  listened  to  the  poem,  I  seemed  to  see  the  vaguest 
possible  forms,  misty  and  full  of  color,  but  the  picture 
defines  the  figures  and  the  scenes.  I  am  not  quite 
sure,"  she  added,  half  sighing,  "  that  I  like  mystical 
poetry.  I  think  I  might  come  to  like  it.  Indeed,  I  am 
afraid  I  might  come  to  like  it." 

"  And  why  not  ? "  he  asked.  "  Why  should  you 
hesitate  to  trust  yourself  to  any  current  of  sentiment 
which  takes  you  away  from  hard  outlines?  I  suppose 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  215 

you  think  me  a  cynical  sort  of  fellow,  and  perhaps  I 
am,  but  I  think  that  such  poetry  as  this  and  some 
music  that  I  hear  are  botlrnanuch  to  be  preferred  to 
opium." 

"  That  is  just  it,"  she  cried.  "  I  have  a  horror  of 
opiates  in  literature  or  art  or  religion.  I  need  not  be 
so  heated  about  it,  though,"  she  added,  with  a  laugh; 
"and  besides,  the  sentiment  is  riot  original.  An  excel 
lent  aunt  of  mine  delivered  herself  of  it  otfce,  and  I 
never  forgot  it." 

"  Tell  me  about  her,"  said  Le  Clear,  feeling  a  deli 
cious  sense  of  enjoyment  in  listening  to  the  girl  before' 
whom  he  sat,  which  quite  dispelled  his  ordinary  pleasure 
in  hearing  his  own  discourse.  "  Tell  me  about  your 
aunt.  She  was  your  next  friend  in  the  country,  was 
she  not  ?  " 

"  She  is  my  best  friend  still,"  said  Miss  Levering, 
"and  her  weekly  letters  are  my  great  comfort.  I  think 
very  likely  you  would  compare  her  to  some  maiden 
lady  in  a  book,  but  she  is  the  most  real  person  I  know." 

"Is  she  a  daughter  of  your  grandfather  here?  " 

"  No ;  she  is  my  father's  sister.  She  was  an  elder 
sister  of  his,  and  I  think  she  must  have  taken  care  of 
him,  much  as  she  takes  care  of  me.  It  is  like  a  story 
out  of  a  book  to  hear  her  tell  of  the  life  they  led  when 
she  was  a  girl,  she  and  her  sister  and  her  brother.  They 
were  poor  and  there  were  few  people  about  them  who 
had  any  education  or  any  books  at  all.  Once  my  Aunt 
Miriam  went  away  for  a  visit  and  found  a  copy  of 
'  Marmion.'  It  was  when  it  was  first  published,  and  she 
had  not  the  money  to  buy  it,  nor  could  she  borrow  it, 
so  she  learnt  it  by  heart  and  carried  it  home  in  that 
way.  Then,  when  they  were  a  little  older  there  came 
an  Englishman  to  the  place  where  they  lived.  He  had 
no  family  and  no  friends ;  nobody  knew  why  he  came 


216  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

or  why  he  stayed ;  he  had  a  story  —  that  was  very 
plain,  but  what  the  story  was  no  one  knew,  not  even 
my  aunt,  I  think,  though  I  believe  she  suspected  some 
thing.  But  Mr.  Arnold  used  to  receive  '  The  London 
Times,'  and  as  there  were  not  very  regular  foreign  mails 
at  that  time,  these  papers  came  in  huge  packages  to 
him.  He  read  nothing  else  apparently,  except  his  Bible 
and  Shakespeare,  but  he  read  the  '  Times '  and  then  used 
to  lend  the  paper  to  my  aunt.  She  told  me  that  she 
learned  all  her  contemporary  history  in  that  way,  and 
she  used  to  make  indexes  of  the  contents  of  the  news 
paper.  Mr.  Arnold  always  kept  every  copy  of  the 
paper  and  in  the  little  house  where  he  lived,  one  room 
was  entirely  devoted  to  '  The  London  Times.'  He 
painted  the  heading  of  the  newspaper  on  the  door,  so 
my  aunt  said,  and  in  that  room  he  had  all  the  numbers 
laid  out  in  regular  order.  My  aunt  used  to  go  to  see 
him,  and  he  would  draw  maps  on  the  floor  to.  show 
her  where  the  different  places  were  that  were  named 
in  the  paper.  He  suffered  from  some  trouble  with  his 
eyes  after  a  while,  and  she  used  to  read  to  him  every 
day.  He  always  had  her  read  in  the  'Times'  and  then 
in  Shakespeare  and  last  in  the  Bible,  and  he  seemed 
never  at  a  loss  when  any  name  or  event  occurred  in  the 
paper.  He  could  always  tell  her  something  more  than 
appeared  there.  He  knew  nothing  about  our  country, 
however,  and  never  wanted  to  see  our  newspapers." 

"  He  was  a  sensible  man,"  remarked  Le  Clear  at 
this  point. 

"  Perhaps  he  was  if  he  wished  to  live  in  England 
when  he  was  in  Kingston,"  said  Miss  Lovering.  "  That 
is  another  of  my  aunt's  sayings.  If  I  ever  say  any 
thing  that  sounds  sagacious,  Mr.  Le  Clear,  please  un 
derstand  that  it  is  borrowed  from  my  aunt.  But  that 
was  the  way  she  received  her  education.  As  the  fam- 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  217 

ily  became  better  off,  she  was  able  to  see  more  books, 
but  I  don't  think  she  ever  cared  quite  so  much  for 
books  that  I  liked,  as  she  did  for  the  older  ones  that 
she  learned  about  from  Mr.  Arnold." 

"  And  what  became  of  Mr.  Arnold  ?  Is  he  living 
still  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  I  never  saw  him  to  remember  him.  He 
died  when  I  was  a  very  little  girl,  but  I  have  heard 
my  aunt  speak  of  him  so  often  that  I  seem  to  have 
seen  him." 

"  Tell  me  more  about  your  aunt.  Does  she  look 
like  you  ?  " 

"  I  never  was  mistaken  for  her,"  said  the  young  lady, 
demurely,  "  but  perhaps  I  shall  be,  some  day." 

"  There  were  strong  mental  resemblances,  I  pre 
sume,"  said  Le  Clea'r,  with  mock  gravity. 

"  Oh,  undoubtedly,  as  for  instance  that  we  both  re 
fused  to  have  our  pictures  taken,  and  both  were  fond  of 
early  rising." 

"  Was  '  The  London  Times  '  accountable  for  these 
noble  traits  of  character  ?  " 

"  Indirectly,  no  doubt.  But  see,  Mr.  Le  Clear,  I 
have  worked  a  most  elaborate  P.  L.  C.  I  hope  you 
will  be  able  to  devise  some  use  to  which  to  put  this." 

"I  am  not  so  practical  as  all  that,"  said  the  young 
man.  "  I  am  so  weak  as  to  have  some  things  for 
which  no  use  can  be  discovered.  Beauty  is  their  ex 
cuse  for  being.  But  where  is  the  S.?" 
•  "  Oh,  you  must  imagine  the  S.,"  said  Sally,  going  to 
the  piano.  She  played  unusually  well  this  evening, 
and  with  a  heightened  color  in  her  face  which  increased 
her  beauty.  Suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  her  playing,  she 
stopped,  and  said :  — 

'•  You  never  told  me  the  story  of  your  music-box, 
Mr.  Le  Clear." 


218  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  Do  you  want  its  future  story  or  its  past  story  ?"  he 
asked. 

'•  Begin,  at  the  beginning,  please,  and  I  will  tell  you 
when  to  stop." 

"  We  will  have  it  with  interludes,"  said  he,  going  to 
the  box  and  winding  it.  "It  shall  play  its  first  tune, 
'  Robin  Adair.'  Do  not  take  up  your  work  again,  Miss 
Sally,  but  let  us  sit  here  before  the  fire,  while  we  make 
the  music-box  a  cricket  on  the  hearth."  He  placed  the 
instrument  on  the  hearth  before  them  and  set  it  in  mo 
tion. 

"  The  first  time  I  heard  that  air  was  when  I  heard 
it  from  this  little  box.  I  was  walking  in  the  city  and 
stopped  to  listen  to  a  little  boy  arid  girl  who  were 
singing  in  the  street.  The  little  girl  had  a  very  sweet 
voice,  and  I  gave  her  a  piece  of  money.  Presently  I 
met  them  again  as  they  had  gone  down  a  cross  street 
while  I  had  gone  about.  They  were  singing  before  a 
house  but  no  one  was  at  the  window,  or  in  the  street. 
Presently  they  stopped  singing  as  some  other  music 
sounded.  They  looked  up  and  down  the  street  for  it, 
and  I  was  puzzled  myself  to  know  where  the  sound 
came  from.  Finally  I  looked  up  and  spied  a  music- 
box  upon  the  sill  of  a  window  in  the  second  story  of  a 
house  near  by.  It  was  playing  the  tune  of  '  Robin 
Adair.'  Now  let  us  wind  up  this  box  again  and  have 
an  interlude  before  the  next  chapter."  The  young 
gentleman  slipped  the  catch,  round  went  the  wheel  and 
"  Scots  wha  ha  "  came  tinkling  forth.  Miss  Levering 
looked  on  and  laughed. 

"I  suppose  it  is  not  proper,"  said  she,  "  to  talk  while 
the  music  is  playing,  else  I  should  ask  if  the  box  was 
playing  all  by  itself  on  the  window  sill." 

"  That  comes  in  the  next  chapter,"  said  Le  Clear. 
"  The  music  is  intended  to  act  as  a  stimulus  to  your 
imagination." 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  213 

"  Oh,  I  see  everything  perfectly,"  she  exclaimed. 
"  The  box  on  the  window  sill ;  the  children  looking  on 
in  admiration,  and  yourself  standing  by  with  the  air  of 
a  connoisseur." 

"  Then  imagine  a  little  more,  now  that  the  air  is 
done,"  and  he  secured  the  'cylinder  of  the  box.  "  A 
man  and  boy  were  leaning  out  of  the  window,  each 
with  a  Scotch  bonnet  on,  and  the  children  who  had  been 
singing  began  to  sing  again  to  the  air,  the  Scotch  words, 
at  the  same  time  dancing  up  and  down  in  delight.  At 
each  new  tune,  they  would  start  off  with  the  words  of 
the  tune,  and  the  man  and  boy  joined  them,  so  that 
the  little  music-box  was  quite  drowned  under  all  the 
voices.  Now  I  will  let  the  box  play  the  rest  of  the 
airs,  for  it  was  when  the  last  air  was  played  that  the 
next  scene  in  my  story  appeared." 

"  I  will  try  to  imagine  the  end,"  said  Miss  Lovering, 
knitting  her  brows  with  a  great  effort  and  listening  to 
the  several  Scotch  airs  which  were  already  familiar 
enough  to  her.  "  The  Blue  Bells  of  Scotland "  was 
the  last  one. 

"  Well,  how  did  it  turn  out?"  asked  Le  Clear,  who 
had  been  watching  her. 

"  At  that  moment,"  she  said,  with  a  story-teller's  air, 
"  the  father  of  the  boy  suddenly  cried,  '  My  children  ! 
oh,  my  children!'  and  rushed  down  to  the  little  boy 
and  girl,  exclaiming  in  broken  accents,  '  My  long  lost 
children  ! '  And  then,  seeing  me,  he  exclaimed,  '  And 
you,  kind  sir,  have  brought  them  to  me  ;  I  never  can 
repay  you,  but  take  my  music-box  as  a  slight  expres 
sion  of  my  gratitude.'  In  vain  I  protested  that  I  had 
done  nothing  to  bring  the  children  back  to  him.  In 
his  excess  of  joy  he  placed  the  box  in  my  arms.  I  ac 
cepted  it,  but  contrived  in  various  ways  afterward  to 
place  the  value  of  the  box  in  the  father's  hands,  re 
taining  it  as  a  souvenir  of  my  little  adventure." 


220  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

Le  Clear  winced  a  little  at  Sally's  pretty  imitation 
of  his  .own  manner. 

"  The  music  has  charmed  you  away  from  the  facts," 
said  he,  laughing  a  little.  "  The  end  is  really  more 
commonplace.  The  Scotchman  beckoned  to  the  chil 
dren  to  come  up  to  him,  and  they  went  up  very  will 
ingly.  I  kept  on  my  walk,  but  often  after  that  I 
passed  through  the  street.  One  day  I  saw  people  about 
the  door  and  a  red  flag.  It  was  an  auction  sale,  and 
going  in,  I  found  that  the  auctioneer  was  selling  the 
effects  of  the  Scotchman,  who  had  recently  died.  He 
was  a  thrifty  fellow  who  manufactured  musical  instru 
ments.  I  recognized  this  music-box  and  bought  it  for 
a  mere  song." 

"  But  did  you  never  find  out  anything  about  his  little 
boy,  or  about  the  boy  and  girl  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no.  I  used  to  think  of  them  sometimes  when 
I  listened  to  my  music-box,  and  fancy  what  had  become 
of  them  all.  I  find  that  street  musicians  and  small 
children  of  a  vagrant  character  generally  make  better 
stuff  for  fancies  than  for  actual  acquaintance."  Miss 
Lovering  sat  silently  for  a  while. 

"I  should  like  very  much  to  know  what  became  of 
the  children.  But  you  said  there  was  a  future  story 
of  the  box,  Mr.  Le  Clear,  aud  you  have  told  me  only 
its  history." 

"  I  feel  hardly  disposed  to  look  very  far  into  the  fu 
ture  to-night,  Miss  Sally,"  said  he.  It  was  the  second 
time  he  had  chosen  the  girl's  name  in  his  speech,  and 
she  hardly  knew  whether  to  protest  or  to  accept  it. 
There  was  so  few  who  gave  her  the  name.  She  sat 
silent,  turning  it  over,  and  lost  the  opportunity  to  pro 
test  in  any  way. 

"  I  have  had  my  theory,"  he  went  on,  "  that  it  is 
best  to  take  leave  of  pleasure  before  it  culminates; 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  221 

the  moment  the  top  is  reached,  one  begins  to  descend 
into  some  kind  of  regret ;  he  makes  mistakes ;  there 
is  a  jar,  and  he  goes  away  or  leaves  his  pleasure 
mixed  with  just  a  touch  of  pain.  It  is  like  midsum 
mer  ;  there  is  a  rest  for  a  moment  when  spring  has 
reached  its  highest  point,  and  then,  in  the  same  mo 
ment  autumn  begins.  Have  you  never  noticed  it  ? 
that  exquisite  melancholy  which  seems  to  brood  over 
nature  as  the  year  turns  ?  Something  of  it  came  to 
me  one  day  last  summer  and  I  wrote  some  verses 
which  I  called  '  Midsummer  Noon.'  May  I  repeat 
them  ?  "  Miss  Lovering  raised  her  face  aud  smiled  as 
sent. 

"  How  floats  the  noon ! 
It  is  the  trembling  height 
When  turns  the  rising,  falling  tide: 

The  tide  — 

Through  day  and  year  its  movements  glide, 
And  day  and  year  unite 
In  this  high  noon. 

"  From  freshest  morn 
To  heavy  laden  noon 
The  strong  sun  climbs  the  joyous  sky ; 

The  sky  — 

Adown  its  slope  the  flushes  die, 
As  sinks  at  eve  the  sun, 
Weary  and  worn. 

"  In  quickening  spring 
The  ecstasy  of  life: 
In  lordly  summer  life  is  crowned ! 

Is  crowned  — 

Yet  royal  robes  shall  strew  the  ground 
In  autumn  days :  and  life  ? 
A  buried  king ! 

"  0  wondrous  height, 
0  solemn  depth  of  joy ! 
The  heavenly  arch  is  lifted  high  — 

So  high! 

•  The  deep  lake  give  us  back  the  sky, 

And  doth  not  quite  destroy 
Its  tender  light. 


222  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  There  is  no  rest: 
The  seasons  circle  on, 
The  sun  brings  morn  and  noon  and  night: 

Dark  night 

But  not  our  rest.     Again  the  light, 
And  still  we  journey  on 
From  east  to  west." 

"There  is  a  strange  pleasure,"  he  went  on,  after  a 
moment's  silence,  "  in  attempting  to  record  what  one 
may  call  the  indistinct  emotions.  Do  you  not  remem 
ber  Wordsworth's  '  Stepping  Westward,'  in  which  he 
describes  the  sensation  which  he  felt  when  meeting,  in. 
one  of  the  loneliest  parts  of  the  solitary  region  about 
Loch  Katrine,  the  western  sky  yet  aglow  with  after 
sunset  light,  two  neatly  dressed  women  who  greeted 
him  and  his  companion  in  a  friendly,  soft  tone  of  voice, 
with  the  words  —  '  What,  you  are  stepping  westward?  ' 
The  place,  the  dying  sky  in  front,  the  sound  of  the 
voice,  conspired  to  connect  the  salutation  with  some 
thing  more  than  simple  courtesy,  and  to  create  a  mo 
mentary  spiritual  exaltation,  changing  the  first  sensation 
of  '  wildish  destiny '  obeying  chance,  to  a  higher  state 
of  feeling,  so  that 

1  Stepping  westward  seemed  to  be 
A  kind  of  heavenly  destiny.' 

That  subtle  feeling  tempts  one  more  than  direct  and 
perfectly  intelligible  emotions.  I  am  haunted  by  such 
evanescent  moods  sometimes,  and  wish  to  lay  the  ghosts 
by  stretching  them  out  in  words.  I  remember  seeing 
something  in  Thoreau  to  the  effect  that  when  he  went 
out  of  doors  to  walk,  without  other  plan,  he  invariably 
found  his  steps  turning  east.  It  exactly  fitted  in  with 
an  experience  of  my  own,  and  I  wrote  these  lines  to 
try  to  cover  my  half  understood  feeling  :  — 

"  What  heavenly  quarter  beckons  us 
When,  standing  on  some  grassy  hill, 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  223 

We  look  around  with  vacant  will 
And  wait  some  wind  to  blow  on  us? 
All  views  are  fair,  our  hearts  are  still, 
Except  a  timid,  fluttering  sense 
Of  pleasure  hiding  somewhere  hence 
And  found,  at  last  our  soul  shall  fill. 

u  For  me,  I  know,  yet  know  not  why 
That  though  with  wavering  will  I  bend 
And  watch  if  any  signs  portend 
In  any  quarter  of  the  sky  ; 
My  veerings  have  one  only  end, 
For  toward  the  east  I  ever  turn 
Yet  never  can  the  secret  learn  — 
What  makes  my  footstep*  thither  tend." 

"  Now  may  we  not  have  some  Chopin  ?  "  he  asked, 
rising  from  his  seat.  He  was  standing  before  her,  and 
bending  he  gave  her  both  his  hands.  She  took  them  and 
rose,  then  hastily  let  them  fall,  and  went  with  flushed  face 
to  the  piano.  She  turned  the  leaves  of  her  music  with 
out  looking  at  him,  and  finding  some  reveries  of  Chopin 
began  at  once,  first  nervously,  but  in  a  moment  with 
more  composure,  and  continued  page  after  page.  Le 
Clear  sat  where  he  could  watch  her  unobtrusively,  and 
gave  himself  up  to  her  face  and  the  music.  At  length 
she  closed  the  sheets  and  rose  from  the  piano. 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Le  Clear,  "  it  is  hard  for  me  to 
put  one  of  my  theories  into  practice  this  evening,  and 
bid  good-by  before  my  pleasure  has  culminated.  How 
do  I  know  now  but  another  hour  would  bring  me  some 
thing  much  better  ?  "  There  was  a  light  in  his  eye  as 
he  spoke,  but  suddenly  he  held  out  his  hand  to  her. 
"  Good-night,  Miss  Sally.  We  will  keep  the  future  of 
the  music-box  for  another  evening." 

"I  must  be  so  inhospitable  as  to  close  the  door  after 
you,  Mr.  Le  Clear.  I  think  I  heard  Maria  go  up-stairs 
some  time  since."  At  that  moment  the  hall  clock  be 
gan  to  sound  its  imperious  notes.  They  both  listened 
and  counted. 


224  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  Twelve  o'clock,"  said  each,  looking  in  astonish 
ment  at  the  other. 

"  I  must  come  some  other  evening  and  beg  your  par 
don,"  said  Le  Clear.  "  The  sin  is  too  recent  to-night. 
I  want  to  roll  it  as  a  sweet  morsel  under  my  tongue." 
He  tripped  lightly  down  the  stairs  and  she  followed 
him.  The  door  was  bolted  and  barred,  and  a  dim  light 

*  O 

only  remained  in  the  passage.  It  was  necessary  for 
Sally  to  instruct  her  visitor  as  to  the  intricacy  of  the 
fastening,  and  to  help  him  clear  the  door,  but  at  length 
it  was  free,  and  he  stood  with  his  hand  at  the  handle. 
His  companion  standing  beneath  the  faintly  burning 
light  was  a  figure  of  singular  beauty.  Her  dark  dress, 
her  simple  coiffure,  were  resolved  in  the  dusky  shade 
into  lines  of  statuesque  grace.  To  Le  Clear  she  seemed 
at  the  moment  a  beautiful  bronze  endowed  with  life. 
A  glow  of  feeling  suddenly  overspread  his  nature  ; 
there  was  an  intoxication  of  sensuous  delight,  and  a 
sudden  enthusiasm  possessed  him.  There  seemed  to 
him  to  be  an  exquisite  moment,  when  life  was  poised, 
and  a  perfect  harmony  existed  between  them  ;  he 
opened  his  lips  for  words  that  were  sure  to  come,  when 
there  was  a  movement  on  the  stairs,  and  he  saw  Maria 
slowly  descending. 

"  Good-night,"  he  repeated,  taking  her  hand  once 
more ;  opening  the  door,  he  passed  outside,  and  in  a 
moment  more  had  entered  his  own  lodgings.  He 
slowly  divested  himself  of  his  outer  garments,  and  feed 
ing  his  fire,  sat  down  before  it.  He  did  not  light  his 
lamp,  but  shading  his  face,  kept  his  place  in  his  easy- 
chair.  He  abandoned  himself  to  a  succession  of  beau 
tiful  dreams.  Stopping  just  this  side  of  something  very 
like  a  confession  of  love  to  the  beautiful  girl  with  whom 
the  hours,  deepening  into  night,  had  brought  him  into 
apparently  very  close  sympathy,  he  now  suffered  himself 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  225 

to  take  the  step  beyond,  and  to  indulge  in  a  full  imagi 
nation  of  all  that  lay  the  other  side  of  such  a  confession. 
He  had  fancied  that  her  beauty  had  positively  grown 
during  the  evening,  and  began  to  build  upon  this  foun 
dation,  imagining  to  himself  a  woman  whose  full  matur 
ity  of  grace  and  fascination  should  be  coincident  with  a 
perfect  sympathy  with  him.  The  slight  jars  which  he 
had  now  and  then  perceived  in  their  intercourse  with 
one  another,  had  already,  he  fancied,  yielded  to  the 
more  positive  impression  of  his  own  nature,  and  he- 
pleased  himself  with  the  thought  of  swaying  into  per-- 
fect  harmony  so  noble  a  spiritual  mechanism  as  hers.. 
From  behind  his  church-warden  pipe  the  vision  of 
marriage  grew  into  an  ideal  life  that  built  its  o.wa  house< 
without  the  sound  of  hammer  or  saw,  and  noiselessly 
decorated  the  interior  with  forms  and  color  which 
would  make  a  fit  background  for  the  graceful  figure 
moving  about  in  it.  Yet  as  the  vision  grew  in  stability, 
the  very  weight  of  the  structure  began  to  tell  upon  the 
cloudy  basis  upon  which  it  rested,  and  Le  Clear,  fatigued 
by  his  own  dreams,  knocked  the  ashes  from  his  pipe, 
and  went  to  bed  with  the  dissatisfied  feeling  of  a  man 
who  had  held  in  his  hands  for  a  few  minutes  the  title- 
deed  to  a  great  estate,  and  then  had  seen  it  turn  to 
ashes  before  his  eyes.  Still,  that  he  had  recovered 
himself,  when  on  the  verge  of  a  declaration,  had  this  in 
its  favor,  that  it  left  him  free  to  enjoy  again  the  deli 
cious  sensation  of  advancing  toward  a  consummate  pleas 
ure. 

15 


226  THE  DWELLERS  IN 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE  regularity  of  Dr.  Checker's  household  had  never 
suffered  so  severe  a  strain  as  when  Miss  Levering  un 
bolted  the  doors  and  dismissed  Mr.  Le  Clear  at  mid 
night.  Maria  had  twice  gone  past  the  door  of  the 
room  where  the  two  were  sitting;  once  her  young 
mistress  had  seen  her,  but  the  silent  protest  of  the  old 
woman  was  of  no  avail.  There  had  crossed  Sally's 
mind  a  little  regret  that  she  should  not  be  able  to  bid 
her  grandfather  good-night,  but  when  the  time  went 
by,  she  resigned  herself  with  excellent  grace  to  the 
inevitable. 

"  I  am  sorry  you  should  have  sat  up,  Maria,"  she 
said,  as  the  door  closed  behind  Le  Clear.  "  I  could 
have  locked  the  door." 

"  You'm  a  young  girl,"  said  the  old  woman,  with  a 
touch  of  asperity.  "  I  would  n't  'a  had  you  coming 
down  all  alone  at  midnight,  aye,  in  the  very  middle  of 
the  night,  to  lock  up.  I'm  eenamost  scart  myself.  Go 
to  bed,  go  to  bed.  It 's  awful." 

"  What 's  awful,  Maria  ?  were  you  never  up  at  mid 
night  before?" 

*  "  Never,  that  I  knows  of.  Never  was  I  up  at  mid 
night,  except  once,  on  New  Year's  eve,  when  I  prayed 
the  old  year  out  and  the  new  year  in.  I  've  been  a 
prayin'  now,  but  it  an't  like  church  !  We  '11  go  up 
together.  Ye  '11  not  leave  me  here.  Go  to  bed,  go 
to  bed,  Miss  Sally,  and  I  '11  come  up  after  ye."  There 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  227 

was  something  pathetic,  as  well  as  grotesque  in  the 
black  woman's  fear  of  midnight,  which  she  seemed  to 
personify  as  a  sort  of  worldly  evil  spirit.  The  little 
swinging  lamp  hung  on  Maria's  arm,  and  the  two  went 
the  rounds,  which  had  already  been  gone  over  by 
Maria  alone,  but  seemed  to  require  a  special  visitation 
to-night,  in  consequence  of  its  being  midnight.  They 
looked  out  of  the  window  from  the  staircase.  The 
moon  was  shining  upon  the  roofs  of  the  houses  about 
them,  and  a  great  cat  stole  mysteriously  along  the 
eaves  of  a  shed  near  by.  Not  a  solitary  figure  could 
be  seen,  and  even  Sally  felt  a  little  awe  at  the  hour, — 
it  was  so  very  still.  They  paused  before  the  clock  at 
her  grandfather's  chamber  door,  and  noted  the  hour.  It 
was  half  after  twelve.  The  candle,  and  almanac,  and 
matches  were  ready  by  it,  and  the  door  to  the  adjoin 
ing  study  stood  a  little  ajar.  To  their  surprise,  a  light 
was  burning  dimly  in  the  study.  Sally  looked  in. 

"  Why,  grandfather  !  at  work  still !  "  she  exclaimed. 
"  Come  in  with  me,  Maria."  She  went  to  the  table. 
Her  grandfather's  back  was  toward  her,  his  head  bowed 
on  his  book,  and  the  light  on  the  table  was  dying  out. 

"  Maria,  he  is  asleep." 

"Grandfather!" 

She  placed  her  hand  on  his  shoulder.  He  did  not 
move.  A  sudden  horror  seized  her.  She  tried  to 
speak,  but  the  words  were  fast  in  her  throat.  She 
beckoned  to  the  woman,  who  stood  helpless  in  the  door 
way.  At  this  moment  the  lamp  died  out  altogether, 
and  the  only  light  came  from  the  little  swinging  lamp 
on  Maria's  arm,  and  from  a  few  coals  still  alive  on  the 
hearth.  Maria  seemed  powerless  to  come  to  her,  and 
it  seemed  to  her  impossible  either  to  leave  her  grand 
father  or  to  continue  to  stand  by  that  still  form.  But 
something  must  be  done,  and  at  length  she  said  :  — 


228  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  Light  the  candle,  Maria,  and  bring  it  to  me."  The 
woman  with  trembling  hands  took  a  match,  broke  it, 
broke  another,  a  third. 

"  Light  the  match  at  your  lamp,  Maria."     • 

Maria  obeyed  and  presently,  after  one  or  two  fail 
ures,  the  candle  was  lighted.  Sally  held  out  her  hand 
for  it,  and  placed  it  on  the  table. 

"  Now  Maria,  listen  to  me,"  she  whispered.  "  Get 
your  hood  and  go  to  Miss  Fix  and  bring  her  here. 
You  can  wait  for  her.  Take  the  key  with  you." 

"  But  I  could  n't  a-leave  you,  Miss  Sally,"  said  the 
old  woman,  trembling. 

"  Never  mind  me  ;  go."  Maria  shook  with  fear,  then 
crept  away  with  her  lamp,  down-stairs.  The  girl  heard 
her  go,  heard  the  door  open  and  close,  and  knew  that 
she  was  alone.  She  sank  on  her  knees,  by  the  side  of 
the  old  man.  Then  she  arose,  and  going  to  a  closet, 
brought  out  the  oil  can  which  she  knew  to  be  there  ; 
carefully  filled  the  lamp,  removed  the  dead  wick  and 
relighted  it.  A  cheerful  light  grew  steadily,  filling  the 
room  with  its  pleasantness.  She  softly  placed  a  few 
pieces  of  coal  on  the  fire.  Whatever  she  did,  was 
done  with  a  noiseless  care,  as  if  she  feared  to  disturb 
the  sleeper.  She  wondered  what  would  be  needed. 
The  door  into  the  chamber  was  partly  open.  She 
opened  it  farther  and  holding  her  candle  looked  in. 
The  bed  was  turned  down  for  the  night.  Everything 
was  in  readiness.  Her  grandfather's  watch  hung  by 
the  bedside,  and  she  knew  that"  he  must  have  been  pre 
paring  to  retire.  She  reasoned  it  out  in  her  mind,  that 
he  had  come  back  to  his  table  from  some  restlessness 
and  had  once  more  sat  at  his  book  ;  Maria  had  heard 
him  go  into  his  chamber,  but  had  not  heard  him  come 
out  again.  She  would  not  go  in.  There  seemed  noth 
ing  to  be  done  there.  The  fire  was  burning  brightly. 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  229 

The  room  was  cheerful  with  the  double  light,  while 
shadows  lay  in  the  corners.  She  began  gently  to  ar 
range  the  books  and  papers,  touching  them  here  and 
there,  to  give  them  a  more  orderly  look.  She  swept 
about  the  hearth,  she  brushed  the  dust  away,  every 
now  and  then  letting  her  eyes  fall  on  her  grandfather. 
By  degrees,  the  quiet  seemed  to  possess  her  as  com 
pletely  as  it  did  the  old  man  and  the  room.  She  took 
a  little  chair  and  placing  it  by  her  grandfather's  knee, 
sat  upon  it,  gently  laying  her  hand  upon  him.  Then 
she  heard  the  door  open  and  steps  ascend.  But  one 
person  was  coming,  Maria,  as  she  knew  by  the  step. 
She  rose  and  went  to  the  door. 

«  Maria ! " 

"  Yes  'm,  Miss  Pix  is  coming,  but  she  would  have 
me  come  first."  Maria  appeared,  at  this,  toiling  up  the 
stairs,  with  her  lamp  still  hanging  from  her  arm.  She 
had  not  parted  with  it. 

"  You  can  go  down  and  wait  for  her  at  the  door, 
Maria." 

"  Please,  Miss  Sally,  let  me  sit  on  the  stairs  below 
here.  She  '11  be  a-coming  soon."  The  girl  made  no 
answer,  but  turned  back  to  the  room,  and  knelt  again 
beside  her  grandfather.  She  remained  thus,  until  she 
heard  some  one  below  at  the  door,  heard  Maria  go 
down  and  open  it.  A  light  step  came  quickly  up  the 
staircase,  and  as  the  girl  stood  in  the  door-way,  she 
saw  her  friend  stretching  out  both  her  hands  to  her. 

"  Courage,  Sally,  courage  !  "  cried  the  little  woman 
in  a  whisper,  and  took  her  into  her  arms.  Sally's 
heart  beat  violently ;  she  was  ready  to  burst  into  un 
controllable  sobbing,  but  by  a  strong  effort  she  kept 
back  the  torrent,  and  biting  her  lip  hard,  rested  her  head 
for  a  moment,  and  then  stood  upright.  She  waited  to 
collect  her  voice,  and  then  whispered, — 


230  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  He  is  not  heavy.  Do  you  not  think  we  could 
carry  him  into  the  chamber  ?  ''  She  had  led  Miss  Fix 
into  the  room,  and  they  stood  before  the  bowed  figure. 
Miss  Fix  shook  her  head. 

"  No,  Sally,  we  could  not.  You  must  not  try.  We 
need  a  man.  I  have  sent  Nicholas  Judge  for  the 
doctor.  I  called  Nicholas,  as  I  knew  we  should  want 
a  man,  and  he  will  be  back  in  a  moment.  My  dear, 
we  cannot  do  without  a  man."  In  spite  of  the  occa 
sion,  Miss  Lovering  could  scarcely  repress  a  smile  at 
Miss  Fix's  energetic  dependence  ou  a  man.  Miss  Fix 
went  to  the  chamber  and  opened  the  windows.  "  He 
is  back  already,"  she  said.  "  Let  Maria  call  him  in, 
and  I  will  speak  to  him."  Maria,  standing  in  the  pas 
sage,  had  already  heard  the  words,  and  was  on  her  way 
down-stairs  before  the  order  could  be  given  to  her. 
She  returned  presently,  followed  by  Nicholas,  who  en 
tered  the  parlor.  Miss  Fix  went  down  to  him. 

"  Come  up  with  me,"  said  she,  and  he  obeyed  ;  in 
the  door-way  of  the  bright  room  stood  Miss  Lovering, 
her  hand  upon  the  lintel.  Nicholas  spoke,  without 
waiting  for  either  to  address  him :  — 

"  Miss  Lovering,  the  doctor  will  be  here  shortly.  I 
came  back  without  waiting  for  him,  hoping  I  might 
help  you." 

"  You  are  very  good,"  said  she,  and  it  crossed  her 
mind  strangely  that  he  had  spoken  the  same  words  to 
her  but  a  short  time  before.  She  hesitated  a  moment. 
"  I  have  wished  to  have  my  grandfather  moved  to  his 
chamber,  but  Miss  Fix  does  not  think  that  we  are  able 
to  do  this.  Shall  we  wait  for  the  doctor  ?  "  The  young 
man,  with  her  silent  consent,  entered  the  room.  He 
bent  over  her  grandfather,  and  then  looked  with  a  ques 
tioning  glance  at  Miss  Lovering.  She  came  forward, 
and  as  he  put  his  arms  beneath  the  old  scholar  and 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  231 

raised  him,  she  stood  by  the  bowed  head  and  let  it  rest 
on  her  hand.  Thus  they  bore  the  burden  to  the  cham 
ber  and  laid  the  cold  form  upon  the  bed.  Nicholas 
bent  over  him,  and  with  her  gently  folded  his  hands  in 
the  way  he  was  wont  to  hold  them,  when  quiet.  Then 
he  withdrew  quietly,  and  left  the  young  girl  by  the 
bedside.  He  came  back  to  the  study  and  found  Miss 
Pix  walking  up  and  down  the  room,  her  eyes  full  of 
tears,  but  every  how  and  then  giving  some  little  touch, 
as  if  trying  to  bring  a  little  order  out  of  the  queer  con 
fusion  of  the  books  that  were  tumbled  about  in  all  parts 
of  the  room. 

"  I  will  wait  below  in  the  parlor,"  said  he,  "  at  any 
rate  until  the  doctor  comes." 

"  I  '11  stay  here,"  whispered  Miss  Pix.  "  The  poor 
dear,  I  won't  disturb  her,  but  when  she  comes  out  she 
shall  find  me  here." 

Miss  Lovering  remained  by  her  grandfather.  She 
knew  he  was  de^d,  but  the  dread  of  that  cold  body 
was  gone  from  her,  and  she  smoothed  his  hair  and  bend 
ing  over  him,  pave  all  her  thought  to  a  loving  and 
tender  care  of  him.  It  was  not  without  a  pang  of  self- 
reproach  that  she  thought  of  her  evening  in  the  room 
below,  while  her  grandfather  sat  dead  here.  That  she 
should  not  have  had  her  nightly  parting  with  him,  seemed 
now  a  loss  which  it  would  be  impossible  ever  to  repair. 
These  matters  and  many  more  went  rambling  through 
her  mind.  She  began  to  wonder  what  the  rest  in  the 
house  were  doing;  were  they  sitting  together,  whisper 
ing  about  her  ?  and  what  should  she  do  ?  She  suddenly 
recollected  that  for  the  present,  at  least,  she  was  the  one 
to  give  orders  and  direct.  The  doctor  would  come  — 
she  had  never  asked  who  it  was,  and  she  had  never 
known  her  grandfather  to  have  a  physician.  Then  she 
reflected  that  probably  it  would  be  the  same  one  who 


232  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

attended  Mrs.  Blake,  and  she  remembered  how  quiet 
and  grave  he  was  when  he  came  down-stairs  and  spoke 
with  Mr.  Judge.  She  thought  she  could  trust  him. 
She  began  to  wish  he  would  come.  A  weary  feeling 
came  over  her.  She  could  not  leave  her  grandfather, 
and  she  began  to  be  oppressed  with  the  thought  of  re 
maining  there.  She  heard  the  door  open,  and  steps 
ascend  the  staircase.  She  rose  from  her  place  and  stood 
in  the  door-way  that  led  to  the  study.  The  doctor  came 
forward  and  she  held  out  her  hand  for  the  light,  which 
she  placed  now  in  the  chamber.  She  stood  by  the 
doctor's  side  motionless,  as  he  raised  his  hand,  listened 
at  his  heart  and  watched  narrowly  for  any  sign  of  life. 
He  asked  a  few  questions,  but  there  was  little  that  could 
be  said  by  either.  No  voice  had  yet  pronounced  him 
dead,  and  a  sudden  rush  of  feeling  came  over  the  girl. 

"  Is  he  dead  ?  "  she  asked,  in  a  choked  voice. 

"  Yes,  my  child,  he  is  dead."  She  knelt  again  by 
the  bed  and  burst  into  a  passionate  flopd  of  tears.  The 
doctor  waited  silently,  while  Miss  Fix  stood  in  the 
door-way,  weeping  bitterly.  But  the  paroxysm  of  grief 
was  soon  spent.  The  doctor  went  into  the  study  and 
motioned  Miss  Fix  to  go  to  her  friend,  and  presently 
the  two  reappeared. 

"There  is  nothing  that  I  can  do  further,"  said  he,  "at 
this  time.  I  have  given  here  the  address  of  an  under 
taker,  should  you  know  of  none  and  it  would  be  well 
to  send  for  him  at  once.  You  are  not  likely  to  rest, 
Miss  Lovering,  until  the  responsibility  is  removed  from 
you,  but  Miss  Fix  will  stay  with  you,  I  am  sure,  and 
I  will  come  again  in  the  forenoon.  Now  shall  I  give 
this  memorandum  to  Mr.  Judge  ?  He  is  below  and  is 
ready  to  do  anything  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Sally,  "  and  can  I  send  a  dispatch  ?  " 

"  If  it  is  going  to  the  country  it  cannot  go  before 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  233 

about  eight  o'clock,  but  it  will  be  well  to  get  it  to  the 
office  early.     Mr.  Judge  will  take  it  for  you." 

"  I  '11  speak  to  Nicholas,"  said  Miss  Fix,  starting  for 
ward. 

"  Wait  a  moment,"  said  Miss  Levering.  Every  one 
seemed  bound  to  bring  Mr.  Judge  in,  and  yet  she  did 
not  at  the  moment  see  how  she  could  do  without  him. 

M  He  can  go  to  the  undertaker's,  if  he  will,"  said  she; 
"  it  is  no  matter  about  the  dispatch.  I  will  see  him 
myself,"  she  added,  with  a  sudden  thought  that  thus 
much  courtesy  might  be  right  toward  one  who  had  al 
ready  done  so  much.  She  went  down-stairs  with  the 
doctor,  who  kept  on  and  left  the  house.  She  stopped 
in  the  parlor,  where  the  young  man  was  sitting  before 
the  dead  fire.  He  rose  as  she  entered  the  room. 

"  I  have  been  thinking,"  he  said,  "  that  you  might  like 
your  aunt  telegraphed  to.  Shall  I  take  a  message  to 
the  office  ?  and  if  there  is  any  other  errand,  1  am 
ready." 

"  Thank  you.  The  doctor  gave  me  this  memoran 
dum,  and  said  you  had  kindly  offered  to  go.  I  should 
like  my  aunt,"  and  her  voice  trembled,  "  but  no  dis 
patch  could  get  to  her  at  this  hour." 

"  There  is  no  telegraph  line  to  Kingston  direct,  and 
the  message  must  be  carried  over  by  a  special  messenger 
from  Chester.  If  you  will  have  the  dispatch  ready  for 
me  on  my  return,  I  will  take  it  then."  She  assented 
silently  and  returned  to  Miss  Fix,  while  the  young  man 
went  on  his  errand.  When  he  returned  the  dispatch 
was  ready  for  him. 

"  I    have    been  very  selfish,"    said    Miss    Levering. 
"  I  have  not  asked  you  how  your  aunt  is  ;    and  you 
have   been    back   and   forth    all   night   for  me.     It  is  i 
nearly  morning  now."     Nicholas  was  silent  for  a  mo 
ment,  gaiuing  the  mastery  of  his  voice.     He    turned 


THE  DWELLERS  IN 

away  his  head  for  a  moment,  but  when  he  looked  again 
and  saw  Miss  Lovering's  eyes  bent  anxiously  upon  him, 
he  shaded  his  face  and  answered  simply  :  — 

"  I  did  not  mean  to  bring  any  trouble  of  mine  here, 
Miss  Lovering.  My  aunt  died  about  midnight." 

"  Oh  !  "  said  the  girl,  with  a  long  sigh,  and  laid  her 
hand  upon  his  arm.  He  took  it  in  his  own,  and  raised 
it  as  if  to  kiss  it,  then  let  it  fall.  "  You  know  it  was 
not  a  sudden  thing  to  me,  Miss  Lovering.  I  have  been 
looking  for  it-daily." 

"  And  you  have  been  here,  and  have  been  doing  all 
this  for  me  !  " 

"  I  could  do  nothing  else."  He  held  himself  back 
by  a  mighty  effort.  His  whole  frame  shook,  and  he 
dared  not  trust  himself  further,  but  turned,  without 
anoliier  look  or  word,  and  fled  from  her  presence.  The 
cool  night  air,  as  he  walked  rapidly  through  the  streets, 
brought  back  some  temperance  to  his  blood,  but  again 
and  again  the  cry  burst  from  his  heart,  "  Oh.  if  I  might 
but  have  spoken  !  if  it  had  been  right  to  speak  !  "  He 
reached  the  office,  and  sent  the  dispatch  by  the  night 
service.  Then  he  added  one  of  his  own,  calling  for 
the  exact  hour  when  it  should  be  delivered  to  Miss 
Lovering.  He  walked  home,  and  entered  his  own 
house.  Mrs.  Starkey  came  to  him.  It  seemed  as  if 
something  of  his  aunt's  quiet  and  peace  had  passed  in 
life  into  this  beaten  body  and  soul,  and  that  at  death  a 
double  peace  had  descended  upon  the  living.  She  led 
him  to  his  aunt's  room,  where,  with  Hannah's  aid,  she 
had  ordered  everything.  The  room  was  as  it  always  had 
been.  Nothing  could  be  added  by  death  to  the  purity 
of  the  chamber.  Yet  the  still  form  that  lay  with  hands 
folded  seemed  to  render  the  whiteness  about  of  a  shin 
ing  purity.  Upon  the  light  stand  by  her  bedside,  Mrs. 
Starkey  had  placed  the  little  bit  of  cambric  which  Miss 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  235 

Levering  had  sketched,  and  upon  it  a  vase,  empty  now, 
but  ready  for  the  rose  which  she  was  sure  Nicholas 
would  bring.  The  morning  light  was  just  entering 
the  room. 

"  We  have  done  everything  as  we  thought  she  would 
have  had  us,"  said  Mrs.  Starkey.  "  Mr.  Judge,  I  never 
can  thank  you  enough  for  letting  me  do  this  for  the 
blessed  saint.  Yet  it  misgives  me  that  Miss  Fix,  who 
loved  her  so  dearly,  should  have  had  no  hand  here. 
I  did  as  you  told  me,  however,  and  did  not  call  her." 

"  Miss  Fix  has  had  other  troubles,  Mrs.  Starkey. 
She  has  been  since  midnight  with  Dr.  Checker's  grand 
daughter.  The  old  man  died  last  night." 

"  The  Lord  have  mercy  upon  us.  And  that  poor 
child  alone  with  that  half-blind  black  woman  ! "  Just 
then  there  was  a  knock  from  Miss  Fix's  side  of  ihe 
house. 

"  I  will  go  down  to  her,"  said  Nicholas  ;  and  descend 
ing,  he  opened  the  door  that  connected  the  houses,  and 
found  Miss  Fix  seeking  admission. 

"  O  Nicholas,  Nicholas,"  cried  the  little  woman, 
"  what  a  night  this  has  been  to  you  !  Why  did  you  not 
tell  me  ?  Yet  what  could  I  have  done  ?  That  good 
aunt  of  yours !  When  Miss  Sally  told  me  of  it,  she 
begged  me  to  leave  her.  '  Everybody  thinks  of  me,' 
she  said  ;  '  do  let  me  think  of  some  one  else.'  But  I 
could  not  le&ve  her,  and  indeed,  Nicholas,  I  can't  tell 
in  my  heart  which  of  you  poor  dears  is  the  most  to  be 
pitied.  But  you  are  both  just  noble,  and  that 's  what 
I  say ;  and  I  say  it  to  you  as  I  said  it  to  her.  Now 
do,  dear  Nicholas,  lie  down,  and  let  me  make  you 
some  coffee.  That  poor  old  black  Maria  is  as  helpless 
as  a  black  glove,  and  just  sits  and  rocks  herself  in  the 
kitchen.  I  have  got  Miss  Sally  to  lie  down,  and  I  ran 
home  to  make  a  pot  of  hot  coffee.  I  can  make  it  so 


236  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

much  better,  you  know,  in  my  own  coffee  pot.  But 
oh,  oh,  how  can  I  run  on  this  way,  when  you  are  all  so 
in  affliction.  I  never  could  say  the  right  word  ;  but 
Nicholas,"  and  she  wrung  his  hand,  "  if  there  's  any 
thing  to  be  done,  please,  please  ask  Betsey  Fix  to  do  it. 
I  've  been  stifling  at  the  other  house.  To  see  that  dear 
girl  so  calm  and  collected,  and  her  old  grandfather 
dying  so  mysteriously,  I  could  not  contain  myself.  I 
knew  I  should  break  out  beyond  anything,  and  so  I 
came  home  for  a  moment.  But  I  'm  going  back  as 
soon  as  I  get  my  coffee  made  ; "  and  here  Miss  Pix, 
who  was  exhausted  and  excited,  broke  down  com 
pletely,  and  sat  on  the  nearest  seat,  hunting  in  a  dis 
tressed  way  for  her  handkerchief.  Nicholas  waited 
a  while,  and  then,  as  she  grew  calmer,  said :  — 

"I  know  you  are  tired,  Miss  Pix,  and  the  night  has 
been  a  hard  one  for  you.  Come  up-stairs  with  me 
before  you  go,  and  I  think  you  can  carry  back  to  Miss 
Lovering  some  comfort  from  my  aunt."  She  obeyed 
his  gesture  and  followed  him  up-stairs.  He  was  right. 
The  calm  and  still  room  pacified  her,  and  she  went 
away  with  a  smile  which  restored  her  face  to  its  wonted 
brightness. 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  237 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

NICHOLAS  found  it  impossible  to  rest.  A  messen 
ger  from  the  telegraph  office  brought  him  a  dispatch, 
notifying  him  when  the  message  was  delivered  to  Miss 
Miriam  Lovering,  in  Kingston.  He  reflected  that  there 
were  two  hours  before  the  morning  train  would  pass 
through  the  village,  and  that  the  lady  would  find  time 
in  that  two  hours  to  make  ready  her  departure.  The 
train  would  reach  the  city  at  noon  or  a  little  after.  He 
went  out  from  the  house.  There  were  some  needful 
things  to  be  done  for  his  own  household.  He  must  see 
the  minister  who  counted  Mrs.  Blake  in  his  parish.  He 
must  attend  to  this  and  that  matter.  He  went  through 
his  tasks  mechanically,  returning  every  now  and  then 
to  his  aunt's  room  to  sit,  but  that  refuge  he  was  forced 
to  leave  when  those  came,  to  commit  the  perishable 
frame  to  whom  it  seemed  a  desecration. 

He  had  intended  going  to  the  train  and  meeting  Miss 
Lovering,  when  it  suddenly  occurred  to  him  that  how 
ever  this  might  fit  into  his  own  mood,  there  was  after 
all  some  assumption  in  doing  this  upon  his  own  motion 
only.  He  had  been  finding  a  faintly  delicious  pleasure 
in  the  thought  of  doing  this,  unasked,  and  had  known 
even  something  of  the  pleasure  of  deferring  another 
visit  to  one  who  was  perpetually  in  his  thought,  but  as 
by  a  rude  reminder,  his  mentor  suggested  to  him  that 
something  of  this  pleasure  must  be  foregone,  lest  he 
should  be  in  peril  of  a  graver  error.  Accordingly  he 


THE  DWELLERS  IN 

turned  his  steps  again  to  Dr.  Checker's  house.  As  he 
came  to  it,  the  door  of  the  adjoining  house  opened,  and 
Mr.  Le  Clear  came  out.  He  looked  sharply  at  Nicho 
las,  but  turning  aside  his  glance  for  a  moment,  he  saw 
the  signal  which  hung  from  the  handle  of  Dr.  Checker's 
door,  put  out  in  the  melancholy  fashion  of  our  social 
ritualism  to  betoken  that  death  had  passed  that  way. 

"  What !  is  any  one  dead  in  here  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Dr.  Checker  died  suddenly,  early  this  morning." 

"  Possible !  why  I  was  there  myself  until  midnight." 

"  He  died  near  that  hour  probably." 

"Was  his  granddaughter  with  him?" 

"  She  found  him  dead  when  she  went  up-stairs." 

"  Are  you  going  in  ?" 

"  Yes."  But  as  they  stood  thus  talking,  the  door 
opened  and  Miss  Fix  came  out. 

"  This  is  sad  news,  Miss  Fix,"  said  Le  Clear,  gravely. 
"I  have  only  just  learned  it.  Will  you  give  my  sympa 
thy  to  Miss  Lovering  and  say  that  I  am  wholly  at  her 
service.  I  hardly  think  it  right  to  intrude  upon  her 
now,  merely  to  express  my  sympathy." 

"  There  is  nothing  to  be  done,"  said  Miss  Fix, "  noth 
ing  that  I  know  of,  that  Mr.  Judge  has  not  done 
already.  I  forgot  to  ask  you  if  you  sent  the  dispatch, 
Nicholas  ?  " 

"It  was  about  that  that  I  was  intending  to  see  Miss 
Lovering,  but  I  think  I  would  rather  speak  with  you." 
Mr.  Le  Clear  bowed  to  the  pair  and  went  out  of  the 
court. 

"  I  '11  go  with  you,"  said  Miss  Fix,  when  Nicholas  had 
explained  the  matter.  "  How  soon  ought  we  to  be 
there?  —  now?  I'll  go  in  and  explain  to  Miss  Sally 
that  we  are  going." 

"  I  told  her,"  said  she,  when  she  returned,  "  that  I 
was  going  to  meet  her  aunt  because  she  had  written 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  239 

about  me,  and  her  aunt  would  know  me,  and  you  were 
going,  because  you  know  her  aunt  by  sight,  and  could 
identify  her.  I  think  that 's  the  word  they  use  in  such 
cases."  Miss  Fix's  spirits  seemed  to  rise  as  they 
walked  together  to  the  station. 

"  It 's  a  holiday  with  me,  you  see.  Oh,  there  I  ought 
not  to  say  that.  Yes,  it  is  though,  it 's  a  holy  day. 
It 's  better  to  go  to  the  house  of  mourning  —  I  know 
it  is,  and  I  'm  not  really  light,  Nicholas,  it 's  only  my 
way.  Really  and  truly,  I  am  very  much  affected.  I 
know  I  could  not  have  gone  to  my  pupils  to-day, 
even  if  I  had  not  been  helping  Miss  Sally  a  little. 
But  it  was  a  great  deal  better  to  be  there,  helping  ever 
so  little,  than  staying  at  home  and  crying.  I  am  going 
to  cry  now,  but  you  mustn't  mind;  I've  got  my  veil 
down;"  and  so  her  talk  tumbled  out,  as  she  half  trotted 
beside  Nicholas's  taller  figure. 

"  How  did  you  get  word  to  your  pupils  ?  "  asked 
Nicholas. 

"  Mr.  "VVindgraff  went  to  see  them.  I  sent  Gretchen 
for  him  after  breakfast.  He  was  very,  very  sorry.  I 
wanted  to  play  a  marche  funebre,  but  he  did  not  think 
it  best.  He  has  such  excellent  judgment."  Miss  Fix 
straightened  herself  up  at  this  and  seemed  quite  to  be 
braced  against  her  friend's  upright  character.  They 
reached  the  station  in  season  for  Nicholas  to  order  a 
carriage  to  be  in  readiness,  and  presently  the  expected 
train  came  rumbling  into  the  house.  Miss  Fix  pulled 
Nicholas  toward  her  and  hastily  said  in  a  confidential 
tone :  — 

"  She  said  it  was  very  thoughtful  of  you,  and  that 
her  aunt  would  be  greatly  obliged  to  you  ;  that  she 
knew  you  were  a  neighbor  of  hers."  The  train  drew 
up  before  them,  and  Nicholas  watched  the  passengers 
descend. 


240  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  There  she  is,"  said  Miss  Fix,  eagerly.  "  That 
lady  getting  out  of  the  next  car,  with  a  basket." 

"  It  is  she,"  said  Nicholas,  and  they  went  forward  to 
her.  Miss  Lovering  stood  hesitating  a  moment  on  the 
platform,  eyeing  the  clamorous  coachmen  to  single  out 
one  less  rapacious  looking  than  the  rest,  so  that  she 
did  not  see  the  two  until  they  were  at  her  elbow. 

"  Miss  Lovering,"  said  Nicholas. 

"  What !  ah  !  young  Judge  ?  " 

"  Yes  'm.  Miss  Pix,  Miss  Lovering.  Miss  Fix  is  a 
friend  of  your  niece's  whom  I  brought  at  her  request." 

"We're  neighbors,"  said  Miss  Pix,  eagerly.  "Al 
most  next  door.  Poor,  poor  Miss  Sally.  Let  me 
take  your  basket,  please.  Nicholas  has  found  a  car 
riage.  He  sent  the  dispatch  off  this  morning  before 
daylight.  Oh,  it  was  very  sudden."  Nicholas,  with 
all  his  old  shyness  returned,  was  hurrying  off  to  find 
the  coachman  he  had  retained. 

"  Come  along,"  said  he,  somewhat  abruptly,  to  Miss 
Pix.  "  This  way."  He  plunged  ahead  to  lay  hold  of 
his  coachman,  who  was  trying  to  fascinate  some  other 
travelers.  After  nervously  escorting  the  two  ladies 
through  the  crowd,  he  succeeded  in  establishing  them 
in  the  carnage  and  sending  it  off  to  Five-Sisters 
Court,  while  he  himself  gladly  refused  their  invitation 
to  accompany  them.  There  was  nothing  quite  so 
grateful  to  him  at  this  time  as  solitude,  and  he  availed 
himself  of  it  with  an  obstreperous  eagerness.  As  he 
threaded  the  streets  his  mind  turned  over  and  over  the 
few  further  glimpses  that  he  had  had  of  Miss  Sally  Lov 
ering.  Did  Le  Clear  indeed  pass  half  the  night  in  his 
call  upon  her  ?  He  remembered  the  passages  of  the 
evening  before ;  he  remembered  the  looks  which  had 
passed  between  them,  and  his  judgment  attempted  to 
convince  him  that  the  passion  which  he  himself  con- 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  241 

ceived  for  the  girl  was  spending  itself  in  its  own  ges 
ticulation,  and  gaining  no  support  from  any  motion  of 
hers.  He  turned  over  the  meagre  words  which  Miss 
Fix  had  reported  to  him,  and  they  sounded  hollow  and 
conventional,  all  the  more  that  Miss  Fix  had  displayed 
an  unseemly  sense  of  their  significance.  Then  the 
meeting  with  Miss  Miriam  Lovering  bought  back  his  old 
life  at  Kingston,  and  reminded  him  how  impossible  it 
would  be  for  the  elder  lady  to  suppose  the  interval  be 
tween  them  to  have  been  in  any  way  bridged  over  by 
the  experience  of  the  last  few  days  and  weeks.  A 
dismal  feeling  possessed  him  that  all  went  for  nothing, 
that  he  was  back  in  Kingston  again,  looking  at  Miss 
Sally  Lovering  as  a  distant  star,  and  shyly  pursuing 
his  own  silent  way,  regarded,  if  at  all,  with  a  misty 
aversion  by  the  people  of  the  village.  So  he  came 
back  by  these  mental  turnings  to  his  aunt's  bedside,  and 
as  if  he  had  suddenly  lost  again  both  mistress  and  aunt, 
his  life  seemed  stripped  bare. 

He  entered  the  court  and  his  own  house  in  blank, 
apathetic  mood,  and  shut  himself  in  his  room.  The 
minister  had  been  to  see  him,  and  he  only  felt  relieved 
that  he  had  escaped  any  special  condolence.  He  tried 
to  work,  but  he  was  too  listless.  He  was  called  to  din 
ner,  and  when  that  was  over,  he  took  his  hat  again  and 
walked  out.  Nothing  but  the  open  air  seemed  to 
have  any  allurement  for  him.  He  made  his  way  out 
of  town  to  the  old  chimney  and  mocked  himself  with 
the  echoes  ;  he  visited  Tommy's  Rocks  again,  and  now, 
tired  in  body  and  thoroughly  dissatisfied  with  himself, 
he  returned  to  his  house. 

It  was  not  long  before  Miss  Fix  came  to  him. 

"  Where  have  you  been  all  this  afternoon  ? "  she 
asked.  "  You  have  been  asked  for  by  Miss  Lovering 
and  her  niece.  Did  you  think  there  was  any  one  else 
16 


242  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

who  could  be  so  useful  ?  "  There  was  a  gravity  about 
Miss  Pix  that  was  unusual  to  her. 

"  Yes,"  said  Nicholas.  "  I  was  tired.  They  could 
easily  call  in  Mr.  Le  Clear.  You  heard  his  offer  of 
services." 

"  Nevertheless,  there  is  something  in  a  common 
trouble,  Nicholas.  Did  you  see  the  flowers  which  Miss 
Sally  sent  for  your  aunt?" 

"  Yes ;  they  were  very  beautiful.  It  was  very 
thoughtful  in  her." 

"  Come  and  thank  her  yourself,"  said  Miss  Pix, 
"  and  perhaps  there  may  be  something  you  can  do 

for  them I  was  sure,"  she  continued  to  Mrs. 

Starkey,  after  he  was  gone,  "  that  he  needed  something 
to  rouse  him.  This  has  been  a  terrible  day  to  him,  and 
he  would  get  into  a  very  unhealthy  condition,  unless  he 
were  forced  out  of  it  I  know  him,  oh,  I  know  him," 
and  Miss  Pix  turned  her  head  over  with  a  sagacious 
air. 

The  door  was  opened  for  Nicholas  by  Miss  Sally 
Lovering  herself,  who  chanced  to  be  in  the  passage. 
He  cast  his  eyes  down  when  he  saw  her.  He  was  not 
prepared  for  her,  and  she  received  him  so  frankly  that 
he  was  filled  with  despair. 

"  You  were  very  kind,  very  good,"  he  said,  "  your 
flowers  were  very  grateful." 

"  I  almost  feared  to  send  anything  but  white,"  she 
said,  "  but,  will  you  come  up-stairs  ?  My  aunt  wishes 
to  thank  you."  He  followed  her  into  the  parlor,  where 
Miss  Lovering  was  taking  her  tea.  The  lady  rose  and 
held  out  her  hand. 

"  My  niece  has  told  me  of  your  kindness,  and  of 
your  own  trouble.  How  strangely  people  come  to 
gether.  The  city  does  not  seem  very  large  when  two 
Kingston  people  are  discovered  living  in  the  same  little 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  243 

court.     You  have  not  been  in  Kingston  have  you,  since 
you  left  ?  " 

"  No,  ma'am.  I  have  lived  very  quietly  here  with 
—  with  my  aunt." 

"  I  should  like  much  to  have  known  her.  My  niece 
was  writing  me  but  a  few  days  since  of  a  long  conver 
sation  she  had  with  her.  Such  friends  are  never  re 
placed.  I  remember  once  when  one  of  my  friends  had 
the  misfortune  to  lose  his  house  by  fire.  There  was 
an  old  portrait  by  Copley  that  was  burned,  and  he  said 
that  for  months  afterward  he  was  haunted  by  the 
thought  how  absolutely  impossible  it  was  to  replace  a 
painting  by  a  dead  artist.  No  amount  of  wealth  could 
buy  back  that  picture.  And  how  much  more  worth  has 
a  human  friend.  We  may  get  new  friends,  but  we 
never  can  have  again  just  that  friend."  Miss  Lovering 
spoke  in  measured  and  dignified  tones,  which  somehow 
seemed  to  reflect  themselves  in  Nicholas's  speech,  and  he 
found  himself  answering  in  a  half  courtly  way,  as  if, 
he  said  to  himself  afterward,  he  had  just  been  having 
his  own  picture  painted  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds. 

"  True,  madam,  but  there  is  something  in  a  friend 
which  does  not  die  out,  and  as  the  recollection  of  a 
portrait  is  something  which  fire  cannot  wholly  destroy, 
so  the  remembrance  of  a  friend,  her  tones  and  herself, 
do  not  perish  at  death."  Miss  Lovering  looked  at  him. 
attentively,  while  Miss  Sally  Lovering  who  sat  near, 
looked  from  one  to  the  other,  as  they  bowed  ceremo 
niously  and  wondered  what  had  come  over  the  young 
man,  whom  she  had  never  seen  quite  in  this  role. 

"  I  should  be  glad,"  continued  Nicholas,  "  if  I  could 
be  of  any  service  to  either  of  you  ladies,"  and  as  he 
said  it,  he  seemed  to  himself  to  be  a  spectacled  ghost, 
lifting  a  skeleton  hat. 

"I  thank  you,"  said  Miss  Lovering;  "you  have  al- 


244  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

ready  been  very  thoughtful.  My  niece  tells  me  that 
you  attend  at  the  same  church  where  she  has  been. 
Her  grandfather  has  not  been  in  the  habit,  for  many 
years,  of  attending  Divine  service.  We  should  be 
grateful  if  you  would  state  these  matters  to  the  rector, 
and  ask  him  to  come  to  us." 

"  I  will  go  now,"  said  Nicholas,  rising  at  once,  re 
lieved  at  escaping  what  seemed  to  him  an  interview  at 
which  he  saw  himself  in  a  sort  of  vague  perspective, 
unable  to  get  into  the  actual  vicinage  of  the  people  in 
the  room.  He  had  been  aware  of  a  pleasant  fragrance, 
and  as  he  rose  his  eyes  instinctively  sought  the  flowers. 
They  stood  upon  the  piano,  and  Miss  Lovering,  noticing 
his  glance,  called  his  attention  to  them  more  closely. 

"  They  are  from  a  neighbor,  a  Mr.  Le  Clear,  who 
was  a  great  admirer  of  Dr.  Chocker.  I  think  he  called 
himself  in  some  sense  a  disciple  of  his.  What  were 
his  words,  Sally  ?  " 

"  He  quoted  the  line  — 

'  This  is  our  master,  famous,  calm,  and  dead.'  " 

"  I  do  not  remember  the  line,"  said  Miss  Lovering. 

"  It  is  from  Robert  Browning's  '  A  Grammarian's 
Funeral.'  He  read  it  to  me  once,"  she  added,  with 
hesitation,  "  when  we  had  been  speaking  of  my  grand 
father." 

"  That  explains  it,"  said  Miss  Lovering.  "  His  note 
was  not  quite  clear,  as  you  read  it,  Sally."  Nicholas 
looked  hard  at  the  younger  lady.  His  heart  beat  vio 
lently  ;  he  fumbled  for  his  hat,  and  almost  without 
another  word,  left  the  room  and  the  house. 

"  That  young  man  has  changed  a  good  deal  since  he 
was  in  Kingston,  Sally,"  said  her  aunt.  "  The  city 
has  done  something  for  him,  but  I  don't  see  but  he  has 
some  of  his  old  shyness  left,  after  all.  Have  you  seen 
him  often  ?  " 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  245 

"  Several  times ;  he  is  a  friend  of  Miss  Fix,  and  I 
have  seen  him  at  her  house.  He  was  very  kind  to  me 
last  night,  as  I  told  you.  Was  it  last  night  ?  it  seems 
so  long  since." 

"  And  this  Mr.  Le  Clear,  I  supposed  he  was  an  old 
man,  like  your  grandfather.  But  perhaps  I  was  mis 
taken.  " 

';  Xo,  he  is  not  so  very  old.  In  fact,  he  is  about  Mr. 
Judge's  age,  I  should  think." 

"  And  he  is  a  friend  of  Miss  Pix  ?  " 

"Miss  Pix  knows  him,  but  she  has  never  seen  so 
much  of  him.  He  is  quite  different.  She  is  full  of  her 
music,  but  Mr.  Le  Clear  is  interested  in  art  and  books 
and  music,  too.  I  have  spoken  of  him  in  my  letters, 
have  I  not?" 

"  I  think  you  did  mention  him  once,  but  I  did  not 
get  the  impression,  somehow,  that  he  was  a  young  man." 

"  Don't  let  us  talk  about  them  to-night,  dear  aunt.  It 
does  not  seem  quite  right,"  said  the  girl,  arranging  the 
flowers  before  her. 

The  funeral  of  Mrs.  Blake  was  from  church,  and 
took  place  at  an  earlier  hour  than  Dr.  Chocker's.  The 
dwellers  in  the  court  were  present  and  the  four  musical 
Germans,  but  few  others.  A  single  white  rose  lay  in 
the  hand  of  the  dead  lady,  but  a  few  half  faded  flowers 
were  placed  at  the  foot  of  the  bier.  Those  who  no 
ticed  them  wondered  not  so  much  at  the  meagreness  of 
the  display,  as  at  the  seeming  indifference  which  should 
allow  flowers  so  near  their  end  to  be  placed  there.  Miss 
Lovering  and  her  niece  were  present,  and  the  younger 
lady,  seeing  them,  scarcely  knew  whether  to  be  vexed  or 
moved.  They  were  the  flowers  which  she  had  sent 
upon  the  day  of  Mrs.  Blake's  death.  They  were  not 
the  only  flowers,  she  knew,  which  had  been  sent  in,  for 


246  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

Miss  Pix  had  confided  to  her  her  difficulty  in  deciding 
between  an  anchor  to  symbolize  hope,  and  a  cross  to  sym 
bolize  suffering,  and  a  crown  to  symbolize  victory,  which 
had  resulted  in  her  abandoning  symbolism  altogether  and 
sending  in  a  basket  of  flowers.  Yet  here  was  her  poor 
offering  looking  like  very  neglect  itself  rather  than  the 
freshest  offering  of  love. 

Nicholas  was  the  solitary  mourner.  He  followed  the 
clergyman  and  the  coffin,  and  during  the  whole  service 
knelt  at  the  chancel  rail.  It  was  as  if  in  this  moment 
of  his  life  he  felt  an  utter  loneliness,  and  when  the  little 
congregation  had  left,  and  he  entered  the  one  carriage 
with  the  clergyman,  and  so  followed  his  aunt  to  the 
grave,  it  was  almost  as  if  he  himself  were  being  carried 
into  solitary  oblivion. 

As  the  people  left  the  little  church,  Le  Clear  stood 
gravely  in  the  aisle  beside  Miss  Sally  Lovering.  She 
had  been  aware  that  he  had  entered  and  taken  a  seat 
directly  behind  her,  and  throughout  the  service  she 
had  been  unable  to  keep  her  mind  wholly  from  him. 
He  was  waiting  for  her,  it  was  plain,  and  she  turned 
her  face  toward  him.  In  her  strained  and  almost  mor 
bid  condition,  there  was  an  indistinct  feeling  of  sharing 
with  him  in  some  guilt.  "While  they  had  blended  talk 
and  music  and  glances  but  three  evenings  since,  her 
grandfather  was  dying,  and  still  lay  unburied  in  the 
house.  She  cast  her  eyes  down,  but  did  not  wholly 
avoid  him. 

"  I  have  not  dared  to  intrude  upon  you,"  he  whis 
pered,  "  yet  I  would  ask  if  I  might  be  allowed  to  come 
this  afternoon  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  she  replied,  in  a  low  tone.  "  Thank  you  for 
the  flowers." 

"  They  must  already  have  faded,"  said  he,  "  and  I 
have  presumed  to  send  others  this  morning."  They 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  247 

were  already  in  the  open  air  and  leaving  the  church. 
Sally  turned  to  her  aunt,  and  Le  Clear,  bowing  to  both, 
left  them  and  walked  rapidly  away. 

"  Who  was  that  young  gentleman,  Sally  ?  "  her  aunt 
asked. 

"It  was  Mr.  Le  Clear,  Aunt  Miriam.  He  stopped 
to  ask  if  he  might  come  this  afternoon."  Miss  Lover- 
ing's  eyes  followed  the  retreating  figure. 

"  He  is  a  younger  man  than  I  supposed,"  she  said, 
and  it  was  evident  that  the  Mr.  Le  Clear  of  her  imagi 
nation  was  shedding  his  years,  under  increasing  light, 
with  great  rapidity.  It  was  almost  a  little  procession 
which  moved  from  the  church  to  Five-Sisters  Court, 
for  Mrs.  Starkey  and  Hannah,  Miss  Fix  and  Mr.  Wind- 
graff,  Messrs.  Schmauker,  Pfeffendorf  and  Pfeiffer, 
with  their  families,  and  Gretchen,  all  went  that  way, 
besides  Miss  Levering  and  her  niece.  The  day  seemed 
to  all  of  them,  but  especially  to  the  dwellers  in  the 
court,  to  have  a  special  character,  and  there  was  some 
thing  indecorous  in  the  busy  movements  of  the  street, 
the  jostling  crowds,  the  noise  and  disorder.  To  have 
been  to  one  funeral  and  to  be,  as  it  were,  on  the  way  to 
another,  brought  a  certain  stillness  into  the  minds  of  all 
which  rendered  ordinary  affairs  intrusive. 

It  was  a  very  little  gathering  that  met  afterward  in 
Dr.  Checker's  house.  The  German  gentlemen,  save 
Mr.  Windgraff,  were  not  willing  to  presume  upon  their 
slight  acquaintance  with  the  old  scholar,  and  though 
Mrs.  Starkey  and  Hannah  were  there,  and  Miss  Pix 
and  Mr.  Windgraff,  and  Gretchen  and  Mr.  Le  Clear, 
Nicholas  Judge  had  not  returned.  One  or  two  friends 
of  Dr.  Chocker,  who  seemed  to  have  been  brought 
out  of  their  cells  and  dusted  for  this  occasion,  were 
present,  and  Miss  Pix,  at  Miss  Lovering's  request, 
went  with  the  two  ladies  and  Maria  to  the  grave. 


248  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

Maria,  since  her  master's  death,  was  as  one  bewildered. 
She  sat  most  of  the  time  in  her  kitchen,  mechanically 
rocking  and  reading  her  hymn-book,  but  the  main 
spring  of  her  daily  works  had  been  broken,  and  all  the 
machinery  was  lame  and  impotent.  She  obeyed  her 
young  mistress  in  anything  that  could  be  done  when 
the  order  came,  but  she  was  no  longer  competent  to 
follow  any  order  beyond  the  immediate  moment,  and 
accordingly  Sally  was  wont  to  make  visits  every  few 
minutes  to  the  kitchen  to  start  Maria  again,  as  if  she 
were  some  poor,  worn-out  clock  which  would  go  for  a 
few  minutes  after  being  wound,  but  needed  constantly 
to  be  set  in  motion. 

It  was  a  mild  afternoon,  and  there  seemed  to  be  a 
gentle  starting  in  nature,  as  if  preparations  were  mak 
ing  for  an  escape  from  the  winter  into  all  the  hope  and 
expectation  of  spring.  As  they  drove  into  the  burial 
ground,  the  bell  in  the  tower  sounded  a  few  strokes, 
and  their  talk,  which  had  turned  simply  upon  the 
signs  of  new  life  about  them,  ceased,  and  each  sank 
back  into  her  place,  resuming  the  threads  of  thought 
which  had  been  spun  by  this  death.  They  came  to  the 
grave,  and  as  they  left  the  carriage  they  noticed  a 
newly  made  grave  adjoining  that  which  was  to  receive 
the  old  scholar's  remains.  Some  faded  flowers  lay  at 
its  head.  Sally  looked  hastily  at  them  and  turned 
away.  They  seemed  to  obtrude  themselves  upon  her 
here  at  this  place.  She  did  not  know  that  Mrs. 
Blake's  grave  was  there,  and  it  almost  seemed  for  a 
moment  as  if  there  were  some  design  in  it.  She  stood 
with  the  others  at  the  open  grave,  while  the  minister 
pronounced  a  few  words  of  farewell  and  let  the  earth 
slip  through  his  fingers  upon  the  lowered  case.  As 
they  turned  away,  Miss  Fix  arrested  her  by  the  neigh 
boring  mound. 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  249 

"  I  believe  this  is  Mrs.  Blake's,"  said  she.  "  How 
singular !  Look,  why  there  is  Nicholas  !  "  and  at  that 
moment  they  both  saw  a  solitary  figure  coining  down  a 
path  near  by.  It  was  Nicholas  Judge,  who,  lingering 
about  the  ground  and  seeing  a  funeral  party  near  his 
aunt's  grave,  drew  nearer.  He  stopped,  for  he  recog 
nized  presently  the  figures  and  faces,  and  turned  away. 

"  Nicholas  !  "  said  Miss  Pix  in  a  loud  whisper,  ener 
getically  beckoning  to  him.  But  he  paid  no  heed,  and 
kept  on  his  way. 

"  Why  should  we  not  stay  here  a  little  while  ? " 
asked  Miss  Pix,  who  was  so  seldom  in  the  country 
that  it  was  depressing  to  her  to  return  in  the  close  car 
riage  to  the  city. 

"  No,  no,"  cried  Sally.  "  Let  us  go  back  at  once  ; " 
and  she  seemed  eager  to  get  them  all  into  the  carriage 
again.  As  they  rolled  out  of  the  grounds,  she  saw 
Nicholas  once  more,  loitering  on  a  by-path,  evidently 
waiting  until  the  party  should  have  left. 

And  now,  Dr.  Checker  and  Mrs.  Blake  are  out  of 
the  story. 


250  THE  DWELLERS  IN 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

LIFE  in  Five-Sisters  Court  went  on  again  apparently 
in  much  the  same  way  as  before,  so  far  as  the  outward 
eye  could  see.  The  two  recluses  who  had  left  were  not 
wont  to  impress  themselves  much  upon  the  external 
character  of  the  court,  and  the  occupants  of  the  houses 
which  they  had  once  held,  passed  in  and  out  as  before. 
To  Nicholas,  indeed,  there  was  a  dead  feeling  always 
present.  His  aunt  was  gone ;  a  lonely  sad-visaged 
woman  remained,  who  came  to  him,  earnestly  express 
ing  her  willingness  to  seek  some  other  home,  but  held 
back  by  him  with  an  absent-minded  kindness  of  speech, 
which  made  it  hard  for  her  to  determine  what  the  real 
thought  was  that  lay  behind  it.  He  would  not  confess 
to  himself,  but  it  nevertheless  was  apparent  to  him 
without  confession,  that  he  had  sought  to  bury  in  the 
grave  with  his  aunt  the  hope  which  he  had  cherished, 
and  which  had  flamed  so  fiercely  during  those  days  of 
death.  It  was  with  almost  a  despisal  of  himself  there 
fore  that  he  left  his  room  one  afternoon,  thinking  to 
go  to  the  daily  evening  service  at  his  church,  knowing 
as  he  did,  that  his  hunger  for  a  possible  sight  of  Sally 
Levering  was  more  active  than  any  craving  for  relig 
ious  nourishment.  Nevertheless,  when  he  entered  the 
church  and  took  his  customary  seat  and  glanced  at 
hers  and  found  it  vacant,  he  was  relieved  that  she 
should  not  be  there,  and  joined  in  the  feeble  responses 
of  the  feeble  congregation  with  a  patient  effort  at  in- 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  251 

terest.  Suddenly  as  he  looked  up  at  the  end  of  the 
service,  he  saw  her.  She  had  put  on  mourning  for  her 
grandfather,  and  her  slight  figure  looked  even  slighter 
in  its  close-fitting  dress.  He  had  not  seen  her  since  he 
had  seen  her  at  a  distance  in  the  burial  ground,  and  the 
whole  flood  of  his  nature  which  he  had  been  damming 
up,  seemed  at  once  to  burst  all  the  feeble  bands  which 
he  had  set  to  it.  He  felt  his  heart  beat  with  a  steady 
thud,  thud,  within  him,  and  as  he  left  the  church,  he 
stepped  to  the  girl's  side. 

"  Good  afternoon,"  said  he,  in  a  husky  voice,  which 
seemed  to  himself  to  be  a  voice  left  behind  him  some 
where.  She  looked  at  him  a  little  timidly.  His  voice 
and  his  manner  betrayed  his  feeling,  and  she  was  her 
self  responsive  to  emotions,  which  they  seemed  singu 
larly  to  be  having  in  common. 

"  I  hope  you  have  not  been  ill,"  she  said.  "  My 
aunt  has  been  troubled  about  you.  That  afternoon  "  — 
she  said  it  in  a  low  voice,  as  if  it  were  a  sacred  day  — 
"  after  we  came  home,  my  aunt  had  a  severe  headache, 
or  she  would  have  sent  to  ask  you  to  come  in,  to  see 
us." 

"  Would  you  have  wanted  me  ?  "  he  asked.  She 
hesitated  a  moment,  then  said  quickly,  — 

"  Why,  yes  ;  I  can  never  be  grateful  enough  for  all 
you  did  for  me." 

"  Grateful !  "  he  cried.  "  Do  not  use  that  word.  I 
cannot  bear  it.  I  would  as  lieve  hear  you  say  you  re 
spected  me." 

""Hut  I  do,"  she  said;  and  then,  perceiving  her  mis 
take,  she  hastily  added,  "  I  do  not  believe  it  is  well  for 
us  to  say  these  things  to  one  another.  I  have  been 
taught  to  avoid  protestations  in  words  and  to  trust  to 
what  one  does.  Is  not  that  enough  ?  of  course  it  is 
enough,  for  you  might  misunderstand  my  words,  as  it 
seems  you  did  just  now." 


252  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  No,  it  is  not  enough,"  he  said,  passionately ;  "  or  if 
it  is,  then  have  I  not  spoken  to  you  again  and  again  ? 
Is  it  nothing  that  my  eyes  have  followed  you  whenever 
they  could  find  you ;  that  I  have  studied  how  I  could 
do  the  least  thing  for  you  ;  that  I  have  avoided  all 
hollow  protestations  of  words  and  little  gifts,  and  given 
you  myself  wholly,  wholly,  wholly  ?  Have  you  not 
seen  this?  Are  we  not  here  together?  and  is  it  not 
because  I  could  not  live  longer  without  the  sight  of  you, 
and  went  where  I  hoped  I  might  find  you,  not  that  I 
should  say  this  to  you,  but  that  I  might  silently  love 
you,  as  I  have  loved  you  this  long  time  ?  There,  I 
have  said  the  word  to  you,  that  I  have  said  to  myself 
in  whispers,  and  I  say  it  to-day  because  I  know  I  can 
not  live  this  double  life  any  longer.  I  did  not  mean  to 
say  this,  this  afternoon,  but  it  has  been  ready,  oh,  this 
long  while,  and  it  is  misery  to  keep  it  longer  to  myself, 
even  if  it  is  greater  misery  to  tell  it.  Do  not  answer 
me,"  he  cried,  as  he  strode  along  by  her  side,  "  do  not 
answer  me."  Miss  Lovering  was  silent,  not  so  much 
because  he  bade  her  not  answer  him,  as  because  she 
was  herself  bewildered  by  his  burst  of  passion. 

"  I  am  so  sorry,"  she  said  at  last,  and  her  voice  re 
fused  to  carry  any  other  words ;  it  seemed  to  her  that 
she  must  get  away  and  be  by  herself,  and  yet  at  the 
same  moment  came  a  more  resolute  feeling.  "  That  is 
cowardly,"  she  thought.  Suddenly  Nicholas  turned  to 
her  again. 

u  That  is  not  your  answer,"  he  said,  mournfully.  "  It 
cannot  be  your  answer.  Do  not  say  anything  more. 
Just  let  me  walk  with  you  to  your  house.  I  will  not 
speak.  You  know,"  he  tried  to  say  playfully,  but  with 
a  miserable  sense  of  failure,  "  that  words  are  good  for 
nothing.  Let  me  try  what  silence  can  do."  But  if 
silence  was  his  speech,  not  so  with  Miss  Lovering. 
She  was  aroused  to  a  sense  of  her  situation. 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  253 

"  I  must  speak,"  said  she  arresting  his  gesture.  "  It 
is  not  right  that  I  should  be  silent.  It  is  all  so  strange 
to  me,"  she  cried.  "  I  did  not  know  you  cared  for 
me,  at  least  not  in  this  way.  I  have  had  no  thought  of 
these  things,  or  if  I  have,  it  has  not  been  to  watch  for 
them  from  you.  Forgive  me,  if  I  wound  you,  but  I 
must  not  let  you  go  on  and  think  that  all  this  time  J 
have  been  silently  asking  you  to  care  for  me  a  little 
more,  and  a  little  more,  until  it  has  come  to  this  ;  and 
I  cannot  let  you  go  now  and  think  of  it  as  something 
to  be  said  again,  as  if  I  had  not  answered  you  and 
were  willing  to  wait  with  you.  Oh,  I  am  so  sorry,  but 
really,  really  I  did  not  see  all  this.  What  can  I  say  ? 
What  shall  I  say  ?  You  must  not  speak  thus  to  me." 
She  paused  now  and  then,  as  if  to  elicit  from  her  com 
panion  some  assent  to  her  words,  but  he  heard  her  si 
lently  through  all.  They  had  passed,  absorbed  in  their 
words,  by  the  mall,  and  had  come  again  into  the  street. 
The  crossing  interrupted  their  speech.  Nicholas, 
gently  and  with  watchful  courtesy,  made  a  way  for  her 
among  the  carriages  and  drays,  and  they  left  the  main 
street  by  the  narrow  alley  that  led  directly  to  Amory 
Street.  There  was  a  lull  from  the  noise,  and  a  certain 
privacy  in  this  retired  passage.  Nicholas  stopped  and 
looked  full  in  the  girl's  face. 

"  I  love  you,"  he  said  abruptly,  but  slowly,  and 
walked  again  beside  her.  She  said  nothing ;  she  was 
baffled  by  the  inability  to  reply.  It  would  have  been 
cruel  and  wanton,  and  indeed,  under  the  confusion  of 
her  mind,  hasty  to  retort,  "  I  do  not  love  you,"  and 
nothing  short  of  that  would  suffice.  She  could  not  ad 
mit  his  love,  she  could  not  absolutely  and  positively 
stand  by  the  denial  of  her  own.  She  had  made  her 
protest,  and  she  was  forced  to  rest  in  that.  Indeed, 
too,  the  earnestness  and  depth  of  sincerity  with  which 


254  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

his  last  words  were  spoken  could  be  met  by  nothing 
less  sincere. 

Nicholas  parted  from  her  at  her  door ;  he  said  noth 
ing,  but  took  her  hand  for  a  moment  in  an  abstracted 
way  and  left  her.  Already  it  seemed  that  his  mind 
had  hastened  away  from  a  too  rigid  present  moment 
and  sought  an  escape  into  regions  where  it  would  be 
confronted  by  spectres  it  may  be,  but  not  by  hard,  real 
istic  personal  obstacles.  At  any  rate,  she  watched  him 
as  he  walked  down  the  court,  without  turning  back, 
and  then  entered  her  own  door,  which  was  opened  by 
Maria. 

That  evening,  as  she  sat  with  her  aunt,  she  main 
tained  an  unusual  silence.  She  had  been  wont  to  make 
her  aunt  her  confidant  in  everything,  yet  now  she  found 
it  impossible  to  disclose  what  had  passed  between  her 
and  Nicholas.  "  Have  I  the  right  to  do  this  ? "  she 
asked  herself.  "  I  have  answered  him,  and  that  must 
be  the  end.  I  ought  not'  to  make  known  his  confes 
sion.  It  was  made  to  me.  There  is  nothing  to  Con 
sult  my  aunt  about."  Nevertheless,  she  was  oppressed 
by  the  recollection  of  the  scene.  She  tried  to  read, 
but  could  not.  Her  aunt  sat  steadily  knitting,  not  un 
observant  of  what  was  passing,  but  silently  awaiting 
her  niece's  words.  At  length  Sally  laid  aside  her 
book. 

"  Dear  Aunt  Miriam,"  she  said  ;  "  how  soon  may  we 
go  back  ?  " 

"  So  you  do  not  want  to  stay  here  in  your  own 
house  ?  " 

"  No.  T  long  to  go  back  to  Kingston,  to  you  and 
Aunt  Rebecca." 

"  Think  well  of  it,  Sally.  You  have  come  here  to 
the  city,  and  the  country  will  not  be  quite  the  same  to 
you  again.  I  know  it  is  not  quite  right  to  leave  you 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  255 

here  alone  ;  but  you  are  your  own  mistress,  and  your 
grandfather's  property  will  be  sufficient  for  you."  She 
did  not  look  at  Sally  as  she  said  this,  but  kept  steadily 
on  with  her  knitting. 

"  I  have  half  a  mind  to  go  to  Europe,"  said  the  girl ; 
"  but  you  would  not  go  with  me.  No,  I  am  certain 
that  I  want  to  go  back  to  Kingston.  And  yet,"  she 
hesitated  a  moment,  and  then  said  frankly,  "  it  will 
not  be  the  same  to  me.  Perhaps  it  will  be  better. 
At  any  rate,  I  shall  be  with  you  and  Aunt  Rebecca ; 
and  nothing  can  be  better  for  me  than  that.  There  is 
no  one  else  I  want  to  be  with." 

Nothing  more  was  said  this  evening ;  but  the  next 
day  Sally  resumed  her  talk  with  her  aunt.  She  would, 
at  any  rate,  go  now  to  Kingston ;  and,  since  she  was 
eager  to  go  at  once,  she  would  close  the  house,  leaving 
it  as  it  was,  and  take  Maria  with  her  to  her  aunt's. 

"  Perhaps  the  change  will  restore  her  in  some  way," 
she  said,  though  she  looked  with  pity  and  doubt  upon 
the  poor  soul  that  seemed  to  drift  about  helplessly, 
now  that  her  steadfast  master  had  been  taken  from 
her.  Miss  Miriam  Levering  by  no  word  or  accent 
had  sought  to  influence  her  niece ;  but  the  decision 
once  made,  she  hastened,  with  cheerful  alacrity,  to  aid 
her  in  her  preparations.  As  Sally  was  moving  about 
the  rooms,  arranging  them,  with  a  .curious  sense  of 
ownership  which  had  already  fastened  itself  upon  her 
natural  self-possession  and  dignity,  she  stopped  before 
Mr.  Le  dear's  music-box,  which  had  not  been  opened 
since  the  night  when  he  had  stopped  half-way  in  his 
story  of  its  adventures.  She  opened  it,  turned  the  key 
a  little,  and  heard  the  first  few  notes  of  "  Robin  Adair." 

"  What 's  this  dull  town  to  me  ?  "  she  hummed  to 
herself,  and  closed  the  box.  She  sat  down  to  write  a 
note  to  the  owner,  upon  returning  it.  But  her  pen 


256  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

rested  in  her  hand.  It  was  a  simple  matter  enough  to 
return  it,  but  she  could  hardly  do  this  without  some  in 
timation  that  she  was  to  leave  on  the  morrow.  Why 
did  he  not  come  himself  and  then  she  could  bid  him 
good-by  less  formally.  Still,  the  box  must  go  back, 
and  finally  she  wrote  a  few  lines,  thanking  him  for  it, 
and  adding :  "  If  you  ever  stray  so  far  away  as  Kings 
ton,  pray  come  to  see  me  and  tell  me  the  rest  of  its 
story."  Then  she  erased  that,  and  wrote  her  note  over 
again,  saying  nothing  about  going  away,  but  writing 
"  p.  p.  c."  at  the  bottom  of  her  note.  She  had  some 
misgivings  about  this,  yet  she  could  not  bring  herself  to 
a  more  direct  form  of  leave-taking,  and  sent  the  box 
and  note  by  Maria. 

It  was  in  the  afternoon  when  they  were  sent,  and 
Le  Clear  was  at  home.  He  received  them,  and  seeing 
the  letters  at  the  bottom  of  the  note,  he  saw  plainly 
that  Miss  Levering  was  soon  to  leave  town.  He  had 
few  impulses,  and  seldom  acted  upon  those  he  had. 
Yet  now  he  recalled  with  singular  clearness  the  night 
of  his  visit ;  he  remembered  well  with  how  beautiful  a 
presence  the  girl  had  stood  before  him  ;  he  confessed 
to  himself  that  that  was  a  moment.  He  even  suffered 
himself  to  look  back  with  a  certain  compassion  upon 
himself  that  the  one  notable  instant  of  his  life  might 
then  and  there  have  slipped  by.  Out  of  all  this  retro 
spect  there  grew  a  delicious  sense  of  having  stood  upon 
the  brink  of  love.  It  was  impossible  to  hide  from  him 
self  the  opportunity  which  then  lay  in  his  hand  ; 
equally  was  it  impossible  to  define  with  rigor  precisely 
what  relations  existed  between  him  and  the  girl.  There 
was  an  indefiniteness  still  about  them,  which  held  pos 
sibilities  of  exceeding  enjoyment.  He  sat  in  his  chair 
dallying  with  the  note  in  his  hand,  giving  himself  up 
to  a  certain  incense-burning  to  himself,  yet  every  now 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  257 

and  then  appealed  to,  he  scarcely  knew  how,  by  the 
image  of  the  girl  standing,  expectant,  waiting,  it  almost 
seemed,  for  him  to  reach  forth  his  hand.  He  rose  and 
paced  his  room.  The  front  windows  looked  out  upon 
the  court,  and  as  he  approached  them  he  saw  the  figure 
of  Sally  Lovering  as  she  left  her  house  and  made  her 
way  across  the  court.  She  entered  Miss  Fix's  house. 
A  sudden  impulse  seized  him.  He  could  scarcely  let 
her  leave  without  some  show  of  courtesy  on  his  part, 
and  yet  should  he  disturb  the  _delicately  tinted  vapor& 
which  had  been  rising  about  him  ?  He  dressed  himself 
quickly  and  went  below,  appearing  at  Miss  Loveriug's; 
door. 

No.  Miss  Sally  Lovering  was  not  at  home.  He  re 
gretted  it  deeply,  penciled  his  regrets  on  his  card,  and 
left  it  with  Maria. 

Yet  somehow,  as  he  returned  to  his  room,  he  found 
it  difficult  to  recall  the  airy  phantasms  which  he  had 
permitted  to  form  themselves  about  him,  and  presently, 
leaving  his  room  he  went  out  to  spend  the  evening  at 
the  play. 

Miss  Pix  received  Sally  with  open  arms. 

"  I  was  just  wishing  for  you,  my  dear,"  she  said.  "  I 
have  no  lessons  this  afternoon,  and  I  do  not  want  to  go 
out.  I  believe  I  have  a  cold  coming  on.  Sit  down,  my 
dear,  and  tell  me  what  you  are  going  to  do.  I  don't 
want  to  flatter  you,  Sally.  I  never  do  flatter  people, 
but  seriously,  you  have  grown  very  mature  the  last  few 
days.  I  was  saying  to  Nicholas  Judge  only  yesterday 
that  a  great  change  had  come  over  you." 

"  Believe  nothing  of  the  kind,  dear  Miss  Pix.  I  have 
been  perplexed  about  a  decision  I  have  had  to  make, 
I  mean  about  my  plans,  and  I  suppose  that  has  made 
me  venerable." 

"  You  are  not  going  away,  surely  ?  " 
17 


258 

"  Yes,  I  am.  In  fact,  I  came  this  afternoon  to  bid 
you  good-by." 

"  Don't  you  say  it !  "  cried  Miss  Pix.  "  Take  it  all 
back.  There ! "  and  she  brushed  away  an  imaginary 
cobweb.  "  I  've  heard  nothing  disagreeable,  it 's  all 
gone  away.  Let  me  see,  what  were  we  to  speak  of  ? 
The  Triennial  begins  next  month.  Do  you  know  what 
is  to  be  given  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  know  very  well ;  but  you  really  must  listen 
to  me.  I  am  going  back  to  Kingston  with  my  aunt. 
I  mean  to  take  Maria  with  me  also.  I  don't  know  how 
ghe  will  bear  it,  but  it  may  do  her  good." 

"  It  is  too  bad,  it  is  too  bad,"  cried  Miss  Pix. 
"  You  don't  know  what  a  difference  you  have  made 
here.  I  have  n't  many  friends,  but  I  'm  no  conse 
quence.  Just  see  how  every  one  is  leaving." 

"  First  the  Manlius  family,"  said  Sally,  smiling. 

"  I  did  n't  mind  their  going,  you  know.  But  oh,  how 
I  miss  Mrs.  Blake,  and  I  miss  your  grandfather,  too, 
Sally.  I  did  n't  see  him  very  often,  but  he  was  so 
bright,  and  so  full  of  his  good-natured  words.  And 
now  you  talk  just  as  if  you  were  really  going." 

"  Go  I  must,"  said  the  girl.  "  I  really  had  come  to 
be  at  home  here.  But  you  will  come  to  see  me  in 
Kingston  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Miss  Pix,  shaking  her  head 
ruefully.  "  It 's  not  very  easy  for  me  to  go  away,  but 
I  'm  sure  I  shall  not  want  to  stay  here  after  you  go. 
The  next  thing  will  be  that  Nicholas  and  Mrs.  Star  key 
will  be  going,  and  then  there  '11  be  no  one  left  but  Mr. 
Le  Clear,  and  he 's  much  too  fine  for  me.  No,  I  won't 
say  that.  I  never  did  learn  to  speak  evil  of  my  neigh 
bors,  except  Mr.  Manlius,  and  I  'm  almost  sorry  for  the 
way  I  felt  about  him ;  but  Mr.  Le  Clear  has  so  much 
of  an  air,  that  I  feel  myself  diminishing  to  a  vanishing 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  259 

point  when  he  is  about.  But,  Sally,"  she  whispered, 
mysteriously,  "  it  will  be  worse  for  Nicholas  Judge. 
How  he  will  take  it,  I  don't  know.  You  need  n't  mind 
me  ;  but  I  can  see  through  a  ladder,"  and  she  pursed 
up  her  mouth  and  looked  exceedingly  sagacious.  The 
door  between  the  two  houses  was  here  rapped  upon. 

"  Talking  of  the  Old  Nick,"  said  Miss  Fix,  jumping 
up,  and  hastening  to  admit  her  friend.  Nicholas  came 
into  the  room,  where  Sally  was  examining  the  Musical 
Fund. 

"  Look  at  this  young  lady,"  cried  Miss  Fix,  "  with 
her  trunks  packed,  and  her  hat  on,  coming  in  this  non 
chalant  way  to  say  good-by  to  her  friends." 

"  I  am  not  indifferent,  Miss  Fix,"  said  Sally,  turning 
about,  and  speaking  indignantly.  "  It  is  hard  enough 
for  me  to  go,  and  you  ought  not  to  make  it  harder." 

"  I  envy  you,  going  back  to  the  country,"  said  Nich 
olas. 

"  There  !  "  cried  Miss  Fix.  "  I  knew  it.  I  told 
you  so.  You  '11  go  next,  I  suppose.  Have  n't  I  a 
right  to  be  indignant  ?  " 

"  I  certainly  shall  go,"  said  Nicholas.  Miss  Fix 
sat  on  her  piano  stool  and  dashed  away  at  the  keys. 

"  Miss  Fix  has  an  easy  way  of  unloading  her  mind," 
said  Nicholas  to  Miss  Lovering.  "  I  did  not  know  you 
were  here.  I  did  not  know  you  were  going.  When  do 
you  go  ?  " 

"  To-morrow." 

"  Then  I  am  to  say  good-by,  now  ?  " 

"  I  said  good-by  yesterday,"  said  Sally,  in  her  mind, 
and  she  tried  to  say  it  with  her  lips.  That  would  seem 
to  make  her  answer  final.  But  when  she  began  she 
took  alarm,  and  her  sentence  closed  with  a  sudden  turn. 

"I  said  good-by — to  Miss  Fix  this  afternoon,  be 
cause  I  thought  she  would  wish  to  come  this  evening  to 
bid  my  aunt  good-by." 


260  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"  Give  my  respects  to  your  aunt,  please,"  said  Nich 
olas  ;  "  I  think  she  will  not  expect  me  to  call."  He 
turned  away  without  offering  her  his  hand,  and  left  the 
room.  When  Miss  Fix  turned  upon  her  stool,  she 
found  Sally  only  there,  crying. 

"  You  dear  child,"  said  she.  "  I  am  the  most  pro 
voking  body.  I  say  the  rudest  things.  Do  take  off 
your  glove,  dear,  and  sit  down  with  me,  and  we  will 
have  a  duet.  There  is  nothing  that  makes  two  people 
into  one  so  effectually." 

"Is  that  the  reason  why  you  and  Mr.  Windgraff 
play  together  ?  "  said  Sally,  vexed  at  having  heen  over 
taken  by  tears.  But  Miss  Fix  only  squeezed  her  hand 
and  gave  it  a  tap.  She  would  not  answer  such  non 
sense. 

Nicholas  Judge  did  not  call  to  say  good-by ;  Miss 
Fix  spent  much  of  the  evening  with  the  ladies,  and 
indeed  went  off  once  for  Mrs.  Starkey  and  brought 
her  for  a  farewell. 

"  I  had  thought  Mr.  Judge  would  come,"  said  Mrs. 
Starkey.  "  But  he  was  locked  in  his  room,  and  he 
does  not  like  to  be  disturbed." 

"  I  saw  him  this  afternoon  and  bade  him  good-by," 
said  Sally.  "  He  sent  his  respects  to  you,  Aunt 
Miriam." 

"  He  is  a  young  man  whom  I  think  I  should  respect 
the  more  I  knew  him,"  said  that  lady,  with  decision. 

"  You  'd  love  him ! "  said  Miss  Fix,  energetically. 
"  He  's  the  kind  of  young  man  that  you  'd  love  first  and 
respect  afterward.  That 's  my  opinion,"  and  she 
looked  about  the  company  somewhat  combatively,  and 
then  rubbed  her  nose  with  a  perplexed  air.  "  1  don't 
think  I  quite  know  what  that  means,"  she  said  in  an 
aside  to  Sally.  "  At  least  it  sounds  a  little  odd,  but 
what  I  did  n't  mean  to  say  was  that  he  was  a  man  to 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  261 

begin  by  respecting  and  ending  by  loving.  I  don't 
think  he  is.  The  fact  is,  I  never  could  analyze  char 
acter.  I  've  left  all  that  to  Mr.  Manlius,"  and  she 
waved  the  matter  aside  with  a  magisterial  sweep  of  her 
hand. 

Sally  took  no  part  in  this  paean  of  the  young  man, 
and  her  silence  was  the  deeper  that  she  was  perplexed 
over  the  effect  of  her  own  words  that  afternoon.  That 
she  should  have  indirectly  intimated  a  desire  to  have 
Nicholas  call  upon  her  and  her  aunt  in  the  evening,  to 
say  good-by,  was  the  farthest  remove  from  her  inten 
tion  ;  nothing  but  the  unfortunate  dilemma  in  which 
she  found  herself,  when  undertaking  to  retreat  before 
certain  perilous  words,  had  occasioned  the  seeming  in 
vitation.  Yet  why,  under  the  circumstances,  he  should 
apparently  have  at  once  rejected  the  overture,  almost 
rudely,  was  equally  puzzling  to  her.  Could  it  be  that 
he  had  summarily  abandoned  what  seemed  to  alarm  her 
as  an  unrelenting  pursuit  ?  It  is  doubtless  of  almost 
equal  concern  to  one  thus  pursued  to  know  certainly 
of  the  arrest  of  the  pursuer,  as  of  one's  own  security 
against  final  capture.  It  was  therefore  with  a  sudden 
accession  of  intelligence  that  she  was  made  aware  the 
next  morning  of  the  presence  of  Nicholas  in  the  rail 
way  station,  as  she  sat  with  her  aunt  and  Maria  in  the 
cars  waiting  for  the  train  to  start.  The  station  was  a 
dark  and  suspicious  looking  place,  and  the  general  as 
pect  of  those  who  hurried  through  it  was  of  fugitives 
from  justice,  an  illusion  which  was  not  dispelled  by  the 
detective  air  of  the  gate  porter,  who  scrutinized  every 
one  who  approached  the  train.  Within  the  cars  it  was 
even  more  obscure,  and  hence,  when  she  caught  sight 
of  Nicholas  from  the  window  where  she  sat,  and  pres 
ently  saw  him  enter  the  car  which  her  party  occupied, 
her  own  eyes  could  watch  him  more  intelligently  than 


262  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

his,  unused  to  the  gloom,  could  make  her  out.  She 
saw  him  come  down  the  aisle,  looking  upon  one  side 
and  the  other,  and  even  began  to  speculate  as  to  the 
chance  of  his  passing  them  by  altogether.  As  he  came 
opposite  to  them,  however,  he  stopped,  and  with  a 
glance  at  the  girl,  accosted  her  aunt,  who  sat  by  her 
side. 

"  I  must  send  my  greetings  to  Round  Top,"  said  he. 
"  I  shall  never  feel  altogether  a  stranger  in  Kingston 
so  long  as  that  mountain  is  there  to  recognize  me." 

"  You  will  find  us  there,  too,"  said  Miss  Lovering. 
"  Not  quite  so  old  or  so  stable  as  Round  Top,  but  al 
ways  glad  to  see  you.  Once  a  friend,  you  need  never 
be  a  stranger." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  he.  "  You  are  kind  to  call  me 
so.  I " —  the  jerk  of  the  train  as  the  engine  was  at 
tached,  snapped  his  sentence  in  two,  and  he  reached 
out  his  hand  to  the  younger  lady,  who  sat  next  the 
window.  As  she  took  his  hand,  she  was  aware  that  he 
left  something  within  it,  and  half  angry,  yet  letting  the 
chance  go  for  returning  it,  she  sat  without,  speaking,  as 
he  bade  her  aunt  and  Maria  good-by,  and  left  the  train. 
She  turned  her  head  away  from  her  aunt  and  her  face 
was  toward  the  window.  Nicholas,  without  on  the 
platform,  raised  his  hat.  She  bowed  stiffly,  and  the 
.train  rumbled  out  of  the  station. 

Miss  Sally  Lovering  sat  holding  the  note  which  she 
felt  in  her  hand,  and  strangely  divided  in  her  mind  how 
to  treat  it.  As  they  rolled  out  of  the  city  and  the 
country  began  to  show  itself,  a  sense  of  freedom  came 
to  her.  The  last  few  days  she  had  seemed  to  herself 
to  be  living  under  some  external  weight  which  she  in 
vain  endeavored  to  lift  from  herself.  Her  heart  grew 
lighter  as  she  escaped  from  scenes  and  persons  who  in 
some  way  were  hemming  her  in.  She  felt,  nevertheless, 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  263 

that  she  was  not  altogether  free ;  that  she  had  failed  to 
speak  the  decisive  word  which  would  have  sundered 
forever  the  imaginary  tie  which  held  her  to  the  young 
man  who  had  so  willfully  suppressed  her  freedom  of 
speech  ;  that  there  remained  something  for  her  still  to 
do.  A  shawl  lay  in  her  lap.  She  adjusted  it  over  her 
hands  and  taking  the  note  which  she  still  held,  she  tore 
it  slowly  into  diminutive  bits. 


264  THE  DWELLERS  IN 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

AT  the  station  in  Kingston  the  familiar  depot  car 
riage  was  standing,  and  Silas  King  greeted  the  travel 
ers  familiarly.  He  looked  a  little  curiously  at  Maria, 
and  seemed  to  hesitate  whether  she  was  to  go  into  the 
carryall  or  on  the  trunk  strapped  behind,  but  when  he 
had  folded  the  steps  with  a  clatter  and  clambered  to 
his  seat  and  gathered  up  his  reins,  he  clucked  to  his 
horse  and,  fairly  started  on  the  road,  turned  about  in  his 
seat  with  — 

"  Heard  the  news,  Miss  Levering  ?" 

«  What  news,  Silas  ?  " 

"  Great  news  for  Kingston.     Huddup,  there." 

"  Well,  what  is  the  news  ?  " 

"  There  's  been  a  capitalist  here  since  you  went  down 
last  week  ;  's  been  a  looking  round  for  a  site  for  a  great 
h'otel." 

"  Did  he  look  at  your  lot  ?  " 

"Yes,  he  did.      Get  up,  there." 

"Well,  is  he  going  to  buy  it  ?  " 

" Yes,  he  is" 

"  Why,  that 's  good  news  for  you,  Silas." 

"  You  see,  Miss  Lovering,  I  came  down  to  the  depot 
and  I  see  a  man  get  out  of  the  train  an'  look  round, 
and  I  says  to  myself,  as  soon  's  I  set  eyes  on  him,  — 
'  that 's  a  capitalist,'  and  when  he  got  into  the  carryall 
and  we  started  up  the  hill,  he  began  to  ask  me  ques 
tions,  and  I  knew  right  off  what  he  was  after,  an'  I 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  265 

drove  him  right  up  to  my  lot  there  on  the  side  of 
Round  Top.  I  did  n't  say  anything,  but  I  just  hauled 
up  my  horse,  and  p'inted  with  this  whip  off  toward  the 
east,  and  he  said,  says  he,  '  I  never  see  such  a  view  as 
that.'  He  stayed  up  there  a  good  while,  poking  round, 
and  he  looked  at  old  Judge's  cabin,  and  I  guess  he 's 
pretty  much  fixed.  1  tho't  mebbe  he  'd  be  up  again  in 
the  train  this  morning.  It  '11  be  a  great  thing  for 
Kingston  when  he  gets  that  hotel  of  his  fixed  up." 

Silas  was  nearer  right  this  time  than  he  had  been 
before  upon  the  many  occasions  when  he  had  built 
large  hopes  upon  imaginary  foundations.  The  side  of 
Round  Top  did  indeed  command  a  superb  view,  and  the 
two  adjoining  lots  of  Silas  King's  and  the.  Judges'  af 
forded  an  admirable  place  for  a  country  resort.  Silas 
King's  house  was  in  a  sad  state  of  unrepair,  and  the 
deserted  house  of  the  Judges  was  beginning  to  show 
signs  of  negligence.  Still,  the  situation  of  the  latter 
was  a  desirable  one,  and  the  capitalist  had  determined 
upon  buying  the  two  places,  and  enlarging  the  house 
formerly  occupied  by  Mr.  Judge,  sufficiently  to  answer 
the  immediate  demands  of  summer  boarders.  He  had 
made  inquiries  as  to  the  ownership,  but  no  one  could 
tell  him  whereabout  the  young  man  who  succeeded  to 
his  father's  property  had  gone.  Young  Judge  had 
quietly  gone  away,  and  the  only  news  of  him  which 
any  one  had  was  that  several  weeks  before  a  large  man, 
had  come  up  from  the  city  to  try  to  induce  some  of 
the  farmer's  daughters  to  go  back  with  him  and  be 
servants,  and  he  knew  about  Judge. 

"  I  could  n't  remember  his  name,"  said  Silas,  "  he 
left  a  card  with  me,  and  one  down  't  the  hotel,  but  I 
did  n't  keep  mine,  and  Johnson,  he  could  n't  find  his, 
but  I  happened  to  think  of  Mr.  Lovering  and  took 
him  there.  Mr.  Lovering,  he  could  n't  think  of  his 


266  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

name,  but  he  knew  what  his  business  was,  and  Mr.  Le 
Clear  he  said  he  guessed  he  could  find  out  from  that." 

"Mr.  Le  Clear!"  said  Miss  Lovering;  "that 
could  n't  have  been  your  neighbor,  Sally  ?  Was  he  a 
young  man,  Silas  ?  " 

"  Well,  no  ;  sh'd  say  he  was  'bout  fifty  or  there 
about." 

"  Probably  some  relation,  then." 

"  A  relation  of  yours,  Miss  Lovering  ? "  said  Silas. 
"  Don't  say  so !  " 

"  No,  not  of  mine,  but  of  an  acquaintance  of  mine." 

"  Why,  now  that 's  first-rate.  He  '11  bring  all  his 
friends  up  here  to  the  new  hotel."  Salty  heard  the 
conversation  with  a  singular  complexity  of  feeling. 
The  sudden  disclosure  of  a  possibility  of  Paul  Le  Clear 
being  brought  again  into  association  with  her  seemed 
to  cause  a  secret  door  to  spring  open  within  her.  She 
shrank  back  as  if  she  had  been  suddenly  confronted 
with  the  young  man  in  her  aunt's  presence,  and  was  for 
a  moment  too  confused  to  reply  to  the  question  put  to 
her.  There  was  brought  before  her  also  a  vivid  con 
trast  of  the  city  and  the  country.  She  recalled  her 
conversation  with  him,  and  he  seemed  for  the  moment 
to  stand  as  a  sort  of  representative  of  the  pictures  and 
books  and  music  which  she  had  been  enjoying.  The 
quiet  of  the  country,  and  even  the  companionship  of 
her  aunts,  seemed  for  the  time  to  offer  an  insipid  and 
cheerless  exchange.  Le  Clear  was  also  mysteriously 
associated  in  her  mind  with  her  grandfather's  death. 
She  shuddered  each  time  that  she  recalled  the  contrast 
which  had  been  discovered,  when  she  went  lightly  up 
stairs  after  her  adieu,  with  her  face  flushed  and  her 
eyes  glowing,  to  be  precipitated  into  the  presence  of 
her  dead  grandfather. 

•Yet  even  as  she  thought  of  this,  her  mind  slipped 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  267 

along  to  the  after  scenes,  and  she  could  not  avoid  mak 
ing  place  in  her  thought  for  the  strong  and  reverent 
young  man  who  lifted  her  grandfather  so  tenderly,  and 
seemed  always  in  waiting  that  night  for  whatever  ser 
vice  might  be  appointed  him.  She  turned  away  from 
him  now  in  her  mind,  and  looked  for  the  familiar  sights 
in  her  Kingston  home. 

The  life  which  this  young  girl  had  led  in  the  city 
for  the  past  few  weeks  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  been 
one  of  great  gayety.  She  had  been  housed  with  an 
eremite  scholar  who  counted  all  time  in  danger  of  eter 
nal  loss,  not  spent  among  his  books.  She  had  had  her 
piano  and  books,  but  these  with  little  difference  she  had 
enjoyed  in  the  country.  She  had  made  a  few  acquaint 
ances  and  had  visited  picture  stores  and  attended  con 
certs.  Yet  the  few  weeks  had  certainly  wrought  a 
difference  in  her,  and  when  her  Aunt  Rebecca  received 
her  at  the  old  house,  she  looked  with  both  pride  and 
misgiving  upon  her. 

"  Sally  is  not  the  same  as  when  she  left,  Miriam," 
she  said.  "  She  has  grown  more  mature.  I  suppose 
it  is  her  grandfather's  death  that  has  sobered  her,  but 
I  own  I  am  a  little  afraid  of  her." 

"  Nonsense,  Rebecca,"  said  her  sister,  decisively,  un 
willing  to  admit  any  change.  "  Sally  is  a  little  girl, 
still,  and  her  city  life  has  only  made  her  head  a  little 
fuller  than  it  was  before."  Yet  she  herself  suspected 
that  there  were  some  things  in  that  head  which  first 
found  a  place  there  in  her  absence. 

After  the  first  excitement  of  the  return  was  over, 
Sally  resumed  her  wonted  occupations,  and  filled  her 
place  in  the  quiet  circle  as  simply  and  good-naturedly 
as  ever.  The  only  difference  which  her  aunts  could 
finally  perceive  was  in  a  certain  reserve  and  reticence 
regarding  her  city  experience  which  seemed  not  wholly 


THE  DWELLERS  IN 

in  keeping  with  the  frankness  of  her  frequent  letters, 
before  Miss  Lovering  had  visited  her.  The  two  elder 
ladies,  sitting  alone  with  her,  and  looking  with  admira 
tion  upon  her  departure  and  return  as,  in  some  sort,  a 
bit  of  romance  let  into  their  plain  lives,  worked  as 
siduously  at  their  knitting,  or  sewing,  or  embroidery, 
and  asked  discreet  questions,  which  should  draw  out 
the  young  adventuress,  and  yet  not  seem  to  imply  too 
eager  or  prying  a  curiosity. 

"  It  was  very  singular,  Miriam,  was  it  not,"  said 
Miss  Rebecca  Lovering,  "  that  that  Judge  boy  should 
turn  up  so  unexpectedly  as  a  neighbor  of  Sally's.  She 
never  saw  anything  of  him  here.  You  never  knew 
young  Judge  to  speak  to  him  here,  did  you,  Sally  ? 
though  I  suppose  you  saw  him  in  church." 

"  No ;   I  never  knew  him  here  at  all." 

"  There  were  some  curious  stories  about  him,  or 
rather  about  his  father.  I  used  to  think  Mr.  Arnold 
was  a  confidant  of  his,  Miriam." 

"  Very  possibly,  Rebecca ;  but  Mr.  Arnold  always 
kept  his  own  counsels.  He  was  the  most  discreet  man 
I  ever  knew." 

"Did  he  ever  talk  about  himself,  aunt?"  asked 
Sally,  very  willing  that  the  talk  should  drift  away 
from  Nicholas. 

"  No,  child.  I  respected  Mr.  Arnold  too  much  to 
ask  him  ;  and  he  respected  himself  too  much  to  talk 
about  himself." 

"  Still,  I  should  like  to  have  known  something 
more  about  him ;  and  as  he  had  no  relations  here,  I 
don't  see  that  we  are  likely  ever  to  know  anything 
more." 

"  If  he  had  been  in  love,"  said  Miss  Miriam,  "  he 
would  have  told  everything,  I  suppose.  That  is  the  way 
with  people  in  love.  I  have  heard  of  it  repeatedly, 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  269 

but  never  could  understand  why  it  was  so.  I  suppose 
it  is  natural."  For  some  reason,  the  conversation 
which  took  place  thus  between  the  three  ladies  always 
eddied  about  subjects  which  Sally  wished  to  avoid, 
and  her  reticence,  therefore,  increased  to  a  degree 
which  rendered  her  even  more  unhappy  than  it  ren 
dered  her  aunts. 

"  Why  is  it,"  she  cried  to  herself,  "  that  I  cannot 
talk  simply  and  naturally  about  all  these  things?  If  I 
only  could,  I  am  sure  all  these  illusions  would  disap 
pear."  As  the  spring  advanced  and  the  clear  weather 
rendered  the  walking  good,  she  escaped  more  and  more 
from  the  house  and  her  aunts  into  the  freedom  of  nat 
ure.  Yet  still  she  was  not  herself  half  so  exhilarated 
by  the  air  and  liberty  as  it  seemed  right  she  should  be. 
One  day  her  stroll  carried  her,  as  frequently,  to  the  sum 
mit  of  Round  Top.  The  wide  spread  view  seemed  to 
enlarge  in  her  vision.  She  looked  off  toward  the  city 
and  saw,  what  was  a  rare  and  much  talked  of  sight, 
the  gleaming  of  the  sun  on  the  waters  of  the  bay  be 
fore  the  city,  forty  miles  distant.  She  looked  long  and 
eagerly,  as  if  by  tension  of  sight  she  might  even  descry 
objects  less  expansive  than  the  salt  water.  She  recalled 
the  opportunity  once  given  her  to  see  Round  Top 
from  that  distant  point,  and  tried  to  imagine  herself  in 
the  city,  eager  to  escape  into  the  country.  She  took 
an  unusual  path  down  the  mountain,  and  it  brought  her 
into  the  cleared  ground  where  the  adjoining  King  and 
Judge  farms  were  placed.  As  she  passed  the  former 
she  saw  Silas  taking  his  horse  out  of  the  carryall  and 
driving  him  with  some  vehemence  into  his  shed.  She 
remembered  the  conversation  which  her  aunt  had  had 
with  Silas,  the  day  when  they  came  up  from  the  sta 
tion,  and  as  her  path  led  her  past  the  man,  who  recog 
nized  her,  it  suddenly  occurred  to  her  to  ask  him  if  his 


270  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

capitalist  had  made  his  arrangements  yet  for  building 
his  hotel. 

"  That  Mr.  Le  Clear  ?  no,  he  hain't.  Get  into  the 
barn,  you  old  quadruped.  That  horse  is  infernal  slow, 
Miss  Lovering.  I  'm  sort  of  stirred  up  to-day,  but 
don't  you  mind.  And  what's  more,  he  ain't  agoing  to. 
That  mis'ble  fellow  that  owns  the  house  over  yonder 
won't  sell.  Mr.  Le  Clear  he  hunted  him  up  and  found 
him  in  some  queer  court,  they  say,  and  wanted  to  buy 
the  place,  and  offered  him  a  fust-rate  sum  of  money, 
cash  down,  but  he  would  n't  sell  it,  and  he  would  n't 
give  any  reasons.  Blam'd  if  I  wouldn't  sell,  reason 
or  no  reason.  And  then,  Mr.  Le  Clear,  he  won't  buy 
my  place  'thout  he  buys  his'n ;  says  he  don't  want  to 
have  to  build,  and  besides,  Judge's  place  just  cuts  his 
view  off.  He'd  a  liked  mine,  to  go  along  side  of 
t'other.  I'm  blam'd  if  /want  to  see  that  young  man 
again,  and  there  he  come  to-day,  as  quiet  as  you  please, 
and  wouldn't  ride,  not  he;  he'd  walk  up,  and  off  he 
started.  I  've  a  great  mind  to  sell  out  at  auction  and 
go  off  West  or  somewhere  ; "  and  thereupon  Silas  dis 
appeared  in  the  shed. 

The  intelligence  that  Nicholas  Judge  had  come  that 
day  to  Kingston  was  sufficient  to  make  Sally  wish  she 
had  taken  some  other  path  than  that  which  led  past  his 
house,  but  she  kept  on  her  way,  disturbed  in  her  mind, ' 
and  wondering  if  the  young  man  intended  a  permanent 
return,  and  meant  to  reoccupy  his  old  house.  She 
passed  the  lonely  house  without  meeting  any  one,  but 
as  she  turned  by  a  bend  in  the  road,  she  saw,  coming 
up  the  hill,  his  head  bent  down,  a  figure  which  she 
recognized  at  once  as  that  of  Nicholas.  She  was  not 
seen,  and  stepping  one  side,  she  looked  about  to  see  if 
there  was  not  some  covert  which  would  afford  a  tem 
porary  screen.  A  stone  wall  ran  by  the  side  of  the 


FIVE-SISTERS   COURT.  271 

road,  overrun  by  vines  and  accompanied  by  bushes 
which  grew  in  a  straggling  way  along  its  course. 
There  was  an  inviting  broad  stone,  easily  reached. 
She  climbed  quickly  upon  it,  one  or  two  loose  stones 
falling  in  the  passage  into  the  grass  at  the  foot,  passed 
to  the  other  side,  and  stepped  behind  some  bushes 
which  screened  her  from  the  observation  of  any  one 
passing  that  way.  As  she  stood  there,  her  heart  beat 
ing  with  a  sense  of  her  own  folly  and  timidity,  she 
heard  the  young  man  treading  the  road,  and  then,  as  if 
by  a  sudden  resolve  he  stopped,  turned  aside,  and  sat 
upon  the  stone  wall,  looking  off  across  the  field  and 
over  to  the  country  beyond.  She  was  hidden  still  from 
his  view,  but  she  could  see  him  through  the  bushes. 
There  was  little  time  for  consideration.  A  step  or  two 
on  his  part  would  reveal  her  to  him  and  she  would  ap 
pear  in  a  most  unfortunate  light.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  she  were  to  begin  to  descend  the  hill,  he  would  cer 
tainly  hear  her,  and  stepping  into  the  field  would  dis 
cover  her  in  full  retreat.  There  was  no  course  left 
but  to  retrace  her  steps  and  retrieve  her  false  move 
ment  by  such  boldness  as  remained  to  her.  She  turned 
about  and  two  or  three  steps  brought  her  before  him, 
as  he  sat  with  his  hands  clasped  about  his  knees  look 
ing  over  the  field.  He  jumped  down  quickly  from  his 
perch.  She  held  a  few  flowers  in  her  hand,  the  stray 
gatherings  of  her  walk,  and  with  her  gipsy  hat,  and 
simple  dress,  she  would  have  struck  a  chance  observer 
as  singularly  picturesque  —  precisely  such  a  figure  as 
one,  enjoying  a  landscape,  might  be  glad  to  see  emerge 
from  the  bushes,  and  add  the  light  and  life  which  re 
deem  nature  from  a  too  monotonous  and  distant  charm. 
Sally  tried  to  brave  the  occasion  by  a  somewhat  forced 
gayety. 

"  I  knew  your  face,"  she  said.    "  It  is  quite  as  easily 


272  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

recognized  by  me,  as  my  back  once  was  by  you,  but 
our  positions  are  reversed." 

"  Take  my  place,  then,  on  tbe  wall,"  said  he,  "  that 
we  may  get  into  the  right  relation  with  each  other." 
He  spoke  brightly,  also,  with  a  flush  which  the  sur 
prise  of  meeting  her  had  bought  to  his  face,  and  which 
deepened  as  she  spoke  to  him.  He  gave  her  his  hand, 
and  she,  hesitating  a  moment,  sat  down,  with  a  sense 
of  paying  the  penalty  for  her  impulsive  indiscretion, 
upon  the  broad  stone  which  he  had  relinquished.  It 
certainly  was  a  lovely  view  which  extended  before  her. 
She  had  not  seen  it  before  in  her  hurry  to  cross  the 
wall  and  find  a  refuge,  and  now  it  afforded  a  grateful 
rest  for  her  eyes,  which  were  rather  truant  in  their  dis 
position.  She  was  the  first  to  speak ;  there  was  a  cer 
tain  constraint  in  the  situation  which  made  her  restless 
under  silence. 

"  So  you  had  no  ambition  to  see  your  house  turned 
into  a  summer  resort ;  or  perhaps  you  have  come  back 
to  take  advantage  of  the  suggestion,  and  improve  the 
place  yourself.  Certainly,  it  would  not  be  easy  to  find 
so  noble  a  view." 

"  Then  you  heard  that  the  place  was  sought  for  that 
purpose  ?  " 

"It  was  so  important  a  piece  of  news  that  we  had 
not  been  five  minutes  in  Kingston  before  we  were  told 
of  it." 

"I  am  sorry  Silas  was  disappointed." 

"  And  all  the  city  people  famishing  for  a  breath  of 
country  air  ?  " 

"  It  is  rather  difficult  for  me  to  turn  my  sympathy 
into  quite  so  broad  a  channel.  I  prefer  to  retain  the 
place,  even  at  the  risk  of  being  selfish,  to  devoting  it 
to  a  parcel  of  languid  people  who  will  patronize  nat 
ure  and  regard  Round  Top  as  a  bore.  Besides,  if  I 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  273 

had  no  other  reason,  I  have  a  sufficient  one  in  my 
father's  wish,  that  I  should  never  part  with  the  place, 
but  rather  let  it  go  to  decay  than  sell  it." 

"  Was  he  so  much  attached  to  it  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  though  I  doubt  if  that  was  what  led  him  to 
express  his  wish  so  strongly.  I  think  he  had  more 
than  one  reason,  but  at  least,  one  was  in  a  fear  that  I 
might  require  some  strong  influence  to  keep  me  to  a 
country  life.  There  were  certain  associations  which 
my  father  had,  moreover  with  Kingston,  which  made 
him  very  desirous  that  I  should  continue  to  live  here. 
My  father,  as  you  may  know,  was  an  Englishman." 

"  No,  I  did  not  know  it." 

"  He  was  a  brother  of  Mr.  Arnold." 

"  A  brother  of  Mr.  Arnold  !  " 

"  Yes,  you  have  undoubtedly  heard  your  aunt  speak 
of  Mr.  Arnold." 

"  Many  a  time.     But "  — 

«  But  what  ?  " 

"  Are  you  not  telling  me  what  I  ought  not  to  know  ? 
I  have  often  asked  my  aunt  about  Mr.  Arnold,  but  she 
would  tell  me  nothing  about  him." 

"  It  is  possible  she  did  not  know  this  fact,"  said 
Nicholas,  with  a  faint  smile. 

"  But  your  aunt  was  Mrs.  Blake,"  pursued  Sally, 
who  was  both  interested  and  confused  by  the  attempt 
to  adjust  new  and  old  facts. 

"  True.  She  was  my  mother's  sister.  My  mother 
was  an  American." 

"  How  is  it,  then  ?  "  — 

«  Well  ?  " 

"  I  am  afraid  you  will  think  me  inquisitive,  but  your 
father's  name  was  not  Arnold  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Arnold's  name  was  not  Arnold.  His  name 
also  was  Judge.  It  was  Nicholas  Arnold  Judge,  but 
18 


274  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

he  dropped  the  last  name  when  he  came  here  to  live. 
May  I  tell  you,  in  a  few  words,  about  him,  about  my 
father,  and  about  myself  ?  "  Sally's  assent  of  silence 
was  in  fact  a  recollection  of  her  aunt's  dictum  that  no 
one  but  a  man  in  love  talked  about  himself. 

"  My  father  and  my  Uncle  Nicholas  were  brothers 
living  in  Kingston,  England.  They  both  fell  ardently 
in  love  with  my  mother,  who  was  an  American  girl, 
traveling  in  England,  and  staying  at  that  time  with  a 
friend  in  Kingston,  whose  acquaintance  she  had  made 
on  the  Continent.  She  was  exceedingly  beautiful,  and 
as  American  girls  were  unusual  visitors  at  Kingston, 
she  received  a  great  deal  of  attention  in  the  town.  My 
uncle  was  in  the  army,  and  at  home  then  on  a  furlough  ; 
my  father  was  younger,  and  a  student  at  Cambridge. 
It  was  the  long  vacation,  and  he  also  was  at  home. 
The  two  brothers  engaged  in  a  lively  rivalry,  but 
neither  at  first  was  thoroughly  in  earnest.  Yet  as  the 
summer  went  by,  it  became  evident  to  each  that  they 
were  alike  ai-dently  attached  to  my  mother,  and  that 
whichever  of  them  was  successful,  the  suffering  of  the 
other  would  be  terrible.  At  length  my  father  became 
so  morbid  that  one  night,  without  warning,  and  without 
any  explanation,  he  disappeared.  He  came  to  this 
country  with  the  resolution  to  leave  the  field  to  his 
brother  ;  he  had  made  up  his  mind,  from  some  caprice, 
that  my  mother  did  not  love  him,  and  rather  than  stay 
to  witness  his  brother's  success,  with  a  feeling  also  that 
by  going  away  he  would  put  an  end  to  the  complication 
which  existed,  he  fled  precipitately,  and  came,  as  I  said, 
to  this  country.  His  departure  was  so  sudden  that  the 
village  was  thrown  into  alarm,  and  the  mystery  seemed 
insoluble.  One  person  however,  did  understand  it,  or 
thought  she  did.  The  scene  which  had  convinced  my 
father  in  his  excitement  that  he  was  not  loved,  was  in 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  275 

reality  an  evidence  of  the  love  which  he  did  receive, 
and  which  he  had  so  willfully  shut  himself  out  from. 
My  uncle,  in  his  distress,  sought  everywhere  for  my 
father  but  in  vain.  He  saw  with  all  the  clearness  of 
noonday  that  he  himself  could  never  have  won  her 
whom  he  loved,  and  could  not  now.  He  went  to  her 
and  made  this  confession,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  and 
received  from  her  a  frank  admission  that  she  did  love 
my  father.  Then  he  redoubled  his  efforts.  Miss  Brown 
meanwhile  —  that  was  my  mother's  name  —  returned 
to  this  country,  and  kept  up  her  intercourse  with  my 
uncle.  He  himself  left  Kingston,  directly  after  she  had 
gone,  sold  out  his  commission,  and  began  a  search  for 
my  father.  More  than  once  he  seemed  to  come  near 
him,  but  to  be  evaded.  This  led  him  to  change  his 
name,  and  by  this  means  to  make  his  approach  easier. 
At  length  he  succeeded  in  getting  into  my  father's 
hands  a  letter  from  Miss  Brown,  which  so  far  opened 
my  father's  eyes  as  to  lead  him  to  seek  an  interview 
with  her.  He  was  sadly  changed  by  the  experience 
through  which  he  had  passed,  but  she,  besides  her  old 
love,  which  had  never  faded,  had  the  additional  sense 
of  desiring  to  repair  a  wrong  which  she  had  unwit 
tingly  inflicted.  My  father  had  grown  moody  and 
irresolute,  but  in  his  marriage  he  had  the  beginning  of 
a  return  to  brighter  life.  My  uncle,  restless  and  proud, 
would  not  go  back  to  England,  but  plunged  into  travel, 
for  a  relief.  He  wandered  everywhere,  coming  back 
at  last  to  find  my  mother  dead,  and  my  father  left  with 
me,  buried  here  as  a  hermit.  There  was  little  left  to 
the  two  brothers  but  each  other,  and  my  uncle,  respect 
ing  the  confirmed  habits  of  my  father,  never  openly  rec 
ognized  the  relationship.  He  spent  the  last  few  years 
of  his  life  here,  and  died  when  I  was  a  boy.  But  my 
father,  even  after  my  uncle's  death,  would  never  reveal 


276  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

the  fact  that  it  was  his  brother  that  died.  He  even 
abstained  from  going  to  his  funeral.  He  left  all  this 
to  me  to  learn  from  a  paper  inclosed  with  his  will. 
Do  you  wonder  that  I  should  have  been  oppressed  by 
all  the  mystery  of  my  father's  life,  and  should  have  been 
an  object  of  suspicion  here  in  the  village,  I,  who  lived 
under  the  shadow  of  all  this  strange  life,  never  knew 
then  what  it  was  to  have  a  warm,  perfectly  open  friend  ? 
My  uucle  I  never  knew  as  such,  and  he  was  quite  the 
only  one  who  drew  me  to  himself.  It  was  your  aunt's 
likeness  to  my  mother  that  made  him  seek  her  and  find 
his  rest  in  her  presence.  But  I  was  not  a  churlish  or 
secretive  fellow,  trust  me,  and  in  my  eagerness  to  es 
cape  from  the  close  air  in  which  I  had  been  living,  I 
went  to  the  city  in  search  of  my  mother's  sister." 
There  was  silence  after  Nicholas  had  told  his  story. 
Sally  was  looking  down,  and  he  stood  with  his  arms 
folded,  apparently  waiting  for  her  to  speak.  But  she 
did  not  speak.  Then  he  resumed :  — 

"  My  father  had  for  years  been  engaged  in  experi 
ments  in  the  chemistry  of  plants.  He  had  taught  me 
eagerly  what  he  had  learned,  and  had  inspired  me  with 
some  of  his  enthusiasm.  I  spent  the  winter  pursu 
ing  his  investigations,  feeling  a  certain  filial  duty  to  be 
upon  me  to  perfect  them,  before  1  could  regard  myself 
as  faithful  to  him.  I  have  just  completed  my  work 
and  reached  results  which  satisfy  me  of  an  assured  suc 
cess.  You  can  understand  why,  when  I  went  away 
from  this  place,  suspected,  and  under  the  cloud  which  I 
lived  in  with  my  father,  I  should  wish  to  cut  off  wholly 
my  connection  with  the  place,  unwilling  to  return  till 
it  could  be  as  in  some  sense  a  vindicator  of  my  father's 
memory.  He  did  not  live  here  in  vain.  He"  was  a 
profound  student.  All  the  strength  of  his  nature  was 
poured  into  his  studies,  and  when  my  mother  died,  he 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  277 

suffered  nothing  else  to  take  his  thought  or  attention. 
He  educated  me  to  be  the  heir  to  his  studies,  but 
I  sometimes  think  "  —  here  he  smiled  —  "  that  the 
mother  in  me  was-  active  also.  As  I  wrote  you  in 
my  note,  I  would  not  come  back  here,  no,  not  even  be 
cause  you  were  here,  until  I  could  fulfill  my  pledge  to 
my  father's  memory.  I  have  no  fear  of  returning  here 
now  on  his  account.  I  have  redeemed  the  pledge  to 
him.  I  came  to  redeem  mine  to  you.  When  I  said 
in  my  note,  that  I  would  not  come  to  you  until  I  could 
bring  you  the  perfected  fruit  of  my  love,  I  did  not 
know  what  the  sacrifice  meant.  I  have  lived  without 
you  these  weeks.  I  have  given  myself  to  my  father's 
work,  but  when  I  come  to  you  now,  I  am  strangely 
poor.  I  have  told  you  of  my  father,  of  my  uncle,  of 
myself.  See  how  lonely  I  am.  I  have  done  what 
was  given  me  to  do.  All  whom  I  clung  to  are  dead. 
I  have  great  hopes,  great  plans  ;  great  things  open  be 
fore  me,  and  they  all  turn  on  the  word  which  one 
woman  speaks.  Do  you  think  I  am  brave  to  stand 
here  and  say  that?  It  is  the  courage  of  despair. 
When  I  spoke  to  you  before  out  of  the  depths  of  a 
troubled  heart,  I  was  struggling  with  my  destiny.  I 
could  not,  I  would  not  let  it  then  be  determined.  Now 
I  come  to  you  again.  If  you  send  me  away,  I  shall 
go,  and  I  suppose  I  shall  take  up  my  work  and  carry 
it  on.  But  do  you  know  the  difference  between  the 
work  of  love  and  the  work  of  loneliness  ?  Why  do  I 
go  on  thus,  asking  questions,  and  never  giving  you  time 
to  answer  them  ?  Why  do  I  arrest  your  gesture  ?  I 
want  to  empty  all  my  heart  to  you  and  then  bid  you 
enter  and  see  how  ready  it  is  for  you.  This  is  a  fair 
view  before  us.  Look!"  He  placed  himself  by  her 
side,  and  pointed  to  the  wide  horizon.  "  How  far  we 
can  see  !  how  far ! "  He  bent  his  head,  as  one  to  re- 


278  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

ceive  a  stroke,  and  in  a  low,  firm  tone  repeated  the 
words  he  had  said  before :  — 

"  I  love  you.     Shall  I  go  ?  " 

She  did  not  answer.  He  rose,  but  the  lightest  pos 
sible  touch  was  laid  upon  him. 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  279 


CHAPTER   XX. 

THE  dwellers  in  Five-Sisters  Court  had  one  by  one 
disappeared  from  the  precincts,  and  a  melancholy  dis 
play  of  placards  in  the  windows,  or  closely-blinded 
fronts,  signified  the  desertion  of  the  houses  by  the  oc 
cupants.  Yet  the  corner  house  occupied  by  Miss  Fix 
was  not  yet  deserted,  for  lights  were  in  the  windows, 
and  the  coming  now  and  then  of  a  visitor  indicated 
some  sort  of  mirth  in  the  one  occupied  house.  Miss 
Fix  herself,  most  ubiquitous  of  hostesses,  was  flitting 
back  and  forth  between  the  parlor  and  the  front  door, 
skirmishing  in  a  lively  fashion  before  her  pronounced 
attack  upon  each  new-comer.  There  were  not  many 
of  these.  Mrs.  Starkey,  who,  by  special  arrangement 
still  had  her  quarters  in  the  next  house,  but  made  one 
at  Miss  Fix's  table,  was  seated  quietly  in  the  corner, 
rarely  speaking,  and  shrinking  away  whenever  she 
found  it  possible  to  escape  Miss  Fix's  hospitable  eye, 
bent  upon  her  equal  enjoyment.  The  other  guests 
were  Miss  Fix's  four  musical  friends,  Mr.  Wiudgraff, 
Mr.  Pfeiffer,  Mr.  PfefFendorf,  and  Mr.  Schmauker,  with 
wives  and  daughters  wherever  they  were  generously 
provided  with  the  same. 

"  You  always  have  a  surprise  for  us,  Miss  Fix,"  said 
Mr.  Schmauker,  good-naturedly.  "  What  is  it  to 
night?" 

"  Wait  and  see,"  said  she,  mysteriously.  The  musi 
cal  instruments  were  in  request,  and  the  company  were 
soon  lively  over  music  and  talk. 


280  THE  DWELLERS  IN 

"The  Musical  Fund  must  be  donated,"  said  Mr. 
Pfeiffer  gravely,  and  he  deposited  a  copper  in  the 
hands  of  the  rapacious  musical  box.  The  rest  felt  for 
their  purses,  and  a  general  contribution  was  taken  up. 

"It  is  like  a  church,"  said  Mr.  Pfeffendorf,  who 
rarely  spoke  except  to  his  bosom  friend  Mr.  Schmau- 
ker.  "  "We  pay  our  contributions,  —  it  is  free  offering, 
—  and  then  we  enjoy  Miss  Pix." 

Here  that  lady  tapped  upon  the  piano  with  a  roll  of 
music. 

"  Listen,"  she  said.  "  I  heard  some  good  news  to 
day,  so  I  have  called  you  all  together  to  enjoy  it  with 
me.  We  will  first  put  ourselves  in  proper  mood  by 
playing  Mendelssohn's  '  Wedding  March,'  and  as  we 
have  not  the  music  arranged  except  for  four  hands  at 
the  piano,  Mr.  Windgraff  and  I  will  play  it." 

"  That  is  the  overture,"  she  proceeded ;  "  now  for 
my  good  news.  Our  Mr.  Nicholas  Judge  and  our  Miss 
Sally  Lovering  are  to  be  married." 

"  To  each  other  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Pfeiffer. 

"  Surely,"  said  Mr.  Wiudgraff,  "  you  would  not  have 
them  marry  some  one  else." 

"  Not  if  they  were  in  love,"  said  the  careful  Mr. 
Pfeiffer.  "  Mrs.  Pfeiffer  and  I  married  each  other. 
It  was  because  we  were  in  love,  my  dear." 

There  was  great  chattering  over  the  news,  and  much 
recollection  of  the  Christmas  eve  which  had  introduced 
Nicholas  to  the  society  of  the  court.  A  very  animated 
discussion  went  on  among  the  musical  gentlemen  as  to 
the  exact  facts  respecting  the  arrival  of  Nicholas,  and 
such  few  matters  as  were  known  respecting  the  young 
lady  were  eagerly  canvassed.  Something  had  tran 
spired  respecting  their  both  being  in  the  same  town, 
and  there  was  opportunity  for  great  diversity  of  opinion 
regarding  their  previous  acquaintance,  Mr.  Schrnauker 


FIVE-SISTERS  COURT.  281 

maintaining  that  their  respective  parents  had  once  been 
ardently  attached  to  each  other,  and  Mr.  Pfeffendorf 
arguing  that  Nicholas's  aunt  and  Dr.  Checker  had  had 
some  understanding  in  the  matter  mysteriously  con 
nected  with  their  simultaneous  death,  while  Mr.  Pfeiffer 
stoutly  asserted  that  the  attachment  had  sprung  up  in 
very  tender  years,  and  had  been  going  on  secretly,  a 
theory  which  commended  itself  especially  to  him  and 
Mrs.  Pfeiffer. 

Mrs.  Starkey,  who  had  already  been  made  acquainted 
with  the  news,  received  the  congratulations  of  all,  as 
being  in  a  measure  an  aunt  by  brevet  to  Nicholas,  and 
in  her  quiet  corner  was  not  altogether  unhappy,  though 
very  undemonstrative. 

But  the  evening  slipped  away,  and  one  by  one  the 
guests  left.  Mrs.  Starkey  went  into  her  solitary  house 
to  think  of  the  two  young  people  who  were  to  begin 
the  life  which  she  was  ready  to  lay  aside ;  the  Pfeiffers 
went  home,  Mr.  Pfeiffer  giving  his  wife  a  good-natured 
hug  of  the  fat  arm  which  rested  heavily  on  his  ;•  and 
Mr.  Schmauker  and  Mr.  Pfeffendorf  indulging  in  some 
private  gossip  respecting  a  certain  friend  of  theirs. 

Mr.  Windgraff  alone  remained,  thrumming  his  vio 
lin. 

"  It  is  like  Haydn's  Departure  Symphony,"  said  Miss 
Pix,  coming  back  and  looking  a  trifle  sober.  "  Think 
of  our  party  here  at  Christmas ;  and  then  see,  each 
one  has  in  turn  laid  his  instrument  down  and  gone 
away.  The  Ignoble  Romans  went  first,"  —  it  was  by 
this  name  that  their  unmentioned  neighbors  went,  — 
«  then  Dr.  Chocker  "  — 

"  Laid  aside  his  ear-trumpet,"  interposed  Mr.  Wind 
graff. 

"  Hermann  Windgraff ! "  said  Miss  Pix,  trying  to 
look  shocked.  "  Then  good  Mrs.  Blake ;  then  Miss 
Sally." 


282  FIVE-SISTERS  COURT. 

"  But  she  was  not  at  the  party." 

"  She  was  here  potentially.  I  don't  suppose  you 
know  what  that  means,  but  I  found  the  word  and  have 
been  saving  it.  Then  Mr.  Le  Clear  went  to  Europe  ; 
his  rich  uncle,  you  know,  sent  him  —  the  one  that  came 
here  to  find  out  about  Nicholas.  Then  Nicholas  went 
away." 

"  And  here  are  we  two  wagging  our  heads  at  each 
other,"  said  Mr.  Windgraff.  "  You  know  in  Haydn's 
symphony,  that  when  two  are  left  one  gets  up  and 
goes,  and  the  other  remains  playing  on  until  he  sud 
denly  discovers  that  there  is  no  one  else  present.  Now 
there  are  two  of  us  left ;  I  do  not  like  to  go."  Mr. 
Windgraff  spoke  simply,  but  without  hesitation.  He 
waited  a  moment.  "  That  is  not  plain  enough,"  he  re 
sumed.  "  I  would  like  to  marry  you,  dear  Miss  Betsey 
Fix,  for  I  do  love  you  heartily." 

"  Marry  me !  why  I  never  thought  of  such  a  thing. 
Oh,  yes  I  have  too,"  said  the  conscience-stricken  little 
woman.  "  But  I  did  n't  think  you  would  ever  ask 
me,"  and  she  burst  into  tears.  "But  I  am  so  glad, 
for  I  know  you  always  would  have  been  my  friend, 
but  now  you  will  be  a  great  deal  more.  Have  you 
really  been  loving  me  ?  Why  I  have  loved  you,  too. 
I  don't  suppose  I  ought  to  have  said  so  much." 

"  We  will  say  a  great  deal  more,"  said  Mr.  Wind- 
graff,  and  much  more  they  did  say,  not  that  night  only 
but  long  after. 

And  now  Mr.  Windgraff  and  Miss  Pix  are  out  of 
the  story,  and  pray  why  should  the  story  go  on  if  the 
characters  are  all  gone  ?  I  think  I  hear  those  sharp, 
decisive  chords  which  tell  us  that  the  symphony  is 
over.  The  musicians  are  silent,  the  dumb  audience 
turns  its  back,  and  there  is  silence  in  Five-Sisters 
Court. 


anfc 


]DAMS.  Familiar  Letters  of  John  Adams  and  liis 
wife,  Abigail  Adams,  during  the  Revolution,  with  a 
memoir  of  Mrs.  Adams,  by  Charles  Francis  Adams. 
In  one  volume,  crown  8vo,  portrait,  cloth,  $2.00. 

Mrs.  Adams's  Letters  have  long  been  recognized  as  im 
portant  contributions  to  the  history  of  the  period  in  which 
they  were  written.  Several  editions  have  appeared  at  in 
tervals,  and  the  demand  for  a  new  edition  has  suggested  to 
the  editor,  that  the  corresponding  letters  of  her  husband 
should  be  added.  Many  new  and  interesting  letters  appear 
now  for  the  first  time,  and  the  book  is  carefully  annotated. 

BEARDSLEY.  The  History  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  Connecticut,  from  the  Settlement  of  the  Colony  to  the 
present  time.  By  E.  E.  Beardsley,  D.  D.  In  two  vol 
umes,  8vo,  cloth,  $8.00. 

We  are  happy  to  testify  that  the  result  [of  Dr.  Beardsley's  investigations] 
is  creditable  not  only  to  his  diligence  and  carefulness  in  collecting,  and  his 
skill  in  arranging  and  combining  the  materials  of  the  story,  but  also  to  his 
candor  and  Christian  catholicity  of  spirit.  —  Leonard  Bacon,  D.  D.,  in  the 
New  Englander. 

BEARDSLEY.  Life  and  Correspondence  of  Samuel 
Johnson,  D.  D.,  Missionary  of  the  Church  of  England  in 
Connecticut,  and  First  President  of  King's  College  in  New 
York.  By  E.  E.  Beardsley,  D.  D.,  author  of  "  History  of 
the  Episcopal  Church  in  Connecticut."  In  one  volume, 
8vo,  with  portrait  on  steel,  cloth,  $3.50. 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  WORKS. 

As  the  life  of  a  clergyman  and  one  prominent  in  his  denomination,  to  his 
co-religionists  the  biography  would  in  any  case  have  proved  satisfactory; 
but  the  work  has  a  far  wider  claim  than  this ;  and  the  life  of  Johnson 
merits  the  attention  of  all  professing  to  be  familiar  with  either  history,  " 
science,  philosophy,  or  education.  A  friend  of  the  renowned  Berkeley;  a 
correspondent  of  Benjamin  Franklin;  in  colonial  matters  the  confidential 
adviser  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury ;  in  science  an  associate  with  Cad- 
wallader  Golden,  Lieutenant-governor  of  New  York  ;  such  a  man,  it  is 
evident,  must  leave  in  his  correspondence  much  of  the  most  interesting  mat 
ter.  —  Atlantic  Monthly. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SERIES.  Cabinet  Edition  of 
Choice  Biographies,  by  distinguished  Authors.  Printed  in 
handsome  style,  in  16mo  volumes,  and  neatly  bound  in, 
black  and  gold. 

1.  Robert  Burns.     By  Thomas  Carlyle. 

2.  William  Pitt.     By  T.  B.  Macaulay. 

3.  Frederick  the  Great.     By  T.  B.  Macaulay. 

4.  Julius  Caesar.     By  Henry  G.  Liddell,  D.  D. 

5.  Columbus.     By  T.  A.  Trollope. 

6.  Martin  Luther.     By  Chevalier  Bunsen. 

7.  Hannibal.     By  Thomas  Arnold^  D.  D. 

Each  volume  sold  separately.     Cloth,  each,  $1.00. 

GILMAN.  First  Steps  in  General  History.  A  Sug 
gestive  Outline.  By  Arthur  Gilman,  M.  A.,  author  of 
"  First  Steps  in  English  Literature,"  "  Seven  Historic 
Ages,"  etc.,  with  maps  and  charts.  In  one  volume,  16mo, 
doth,  SI. 25. 

It  is  not  dry  reading,  —  chronological  bones,  denuded  of  flesh  and 
nerve,  —  but  general,  comprehensive,  yet  concrete  views  of  events  grasped 
according  to  their  degree  of  relationship.  —  Professor  Henry  N.  -Day,  oj 
Yale  College,  in  the  College  Courant. 

Admirable  and  neatly  finished.  —  N.  Y.  Arcadian. 

We  have  seen  nothing  better.  —  Boston  Congregationalism 

Accurate  and  impartial.  —  Boston  Literary  World. 

Full  of  vivacity.  —  Morning  Star. 

One  of  the  few  successful  attempts  to  popularize  subjects.  —  N.  Y.  State 
Educational  Journal. 

He  has  done  his  work  conscientiously.  —  Boston  Globe. 

GODWIN.  The  Cyclopedia  of  Biography.  A  Record 
of  the  Lives  of  Eminent  Persons.  By  Parke  Godwin. 
New  Edition.  With  a  Supplement  brought  down  to  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SERIES— GREENE. 

present   time,  by  George   Sheppard.     8vo,  half  morocco, 

$5.00. 

A  concise,  compact  biographical  dictionary  is  one  of  the  most  necessary 
and  most  convenient  of  manuals,  and  we  have  seldom  failed  to  find  what  we 
looked  for  in  Mr.  Godwin's  excellent  compendium.  With  regard  to  Mr. 
Sheppard's  additions,  we  have  examined  them  with  attention,  and  they  are 
all  full,  accurate,  and  worded  with  uncommon  neatness.  —  Home  Journal. 

GRAY.  The  Crusade  of  the  Children  in  the  XHIth 
Century.  By  George  Zabriskie  Gray.  12mo,  cloth,  SI. 75. 
Cheap  Edition.  16mo,  cloth,  $1.00. 

We  will  venture  to  say  that  the  narrative  given  in  this  volume  will  be 
entirely  new  to  ninety  and  nine  of  every  hundred  who  shall  read  it.  —  Uni- 
versalist  Quarterly. 

Nothing  more  romantic  and  heroic,  nothing  more  sad  and  tragical,  noth 
ing  displaying  a  stronger,  though  mistaken  faith,  can  be  found  on  the  pages 
of  history.  The  strange  narration  can  be  read  only  with  the  intensest  in 
terest.  —  Protestant  Churchman. 

GREENE.  The  German  Element  in  the  War  of  Inde 
pendence.  By  George  Washington  Greene.  In  one  vol 
ume,  IGmo,  cloth,  $1.50. 

The  brilliant  and  romantic  story  of  Steuben  and  DeKalb, 
and  the  dark  disclosures  respecting  the  German  mercenaries, 
are  presented  pointedly  and  with  nervous  force  in  this  mono 
graph  by  an  eminent  historical  scholar. 

GREENE.  The  Life  of  Nathanael  Greene.  Major- 
general  in  the  Army  of  the  Revolution.  By  George 
Washington  Greene,  author  of  "  Historical  View  of  the 
American  Revolution."  In  three  volumes,  8vo,  cloth, 
$12.00  ;  half  calf,  $19.50. 

Greene  was  fortunate  during  life  in  the  praise  of  Washington,  who  wrote 
of  "  the  singular  abilities  which  that  officer  possesses,"  and  then  again  for 
tunate  after  death  in  the  praise  of  Hamilton,  whose  remarkable  tribute  is 
no  ordinary  record.  He  has  been  fortunate  since  in  his  biographer,  whose 

work  promises  to  be  classical  in  our  literature Charles  Sumner  in  the 

U.  S.  Senate. 

The  book  combines  solid  investigation  and  completeness  of  materials  with 

cool  reasoning  and  earnest  truth The  author's  charming  simplicity 

of  style  is  in  keeping  with  the  character  of  the  hero.  In  our  days  of  steam, 
telegraphs,  and  railroads,  the  Life  of  Greene  produces  the  effect  of  a  classic 
Plutarchian  biography.  Let  every  father  give  this  book  to  his  son.  —  N.  Y. 
Evening  Post. 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  WORKS. 

GREENE.  A  Historical  View  of  the  American  Revo 
lution,  by  George  Washington  Greene,  author  of  the  "  Life 
of  Nathanael  Greene,  Major-general  in  the  Army  of  the 
Revolution,"  non-resident  Professor  of  History  in  Cornell 
University.  In  one  volume,  crown  8vo,  cloth,  $1.50. 

This  is  the  fifth  edition  of  this  valuable  work,  and  Prof. 
Greene  has  added  to  it  a  very  full  Analysis  of  its  contents, 
which  makes  it  very  convenient  for  reference,  and  especially 
adapts  it  for  use  as  a  text-book  in  schools. 

In  the  small  space  of  450  octo-duodecimo  pages  the  accomplished 
author  gives  a  complete  view  of  the  principles,  laws,  and  development  of  the 
contest  with  enough  of  the  details  to  illustrate  their  concrete  action,  so  that 
the  reader  who  desires  to  pursue  any  one  of  the  lines  of  investigation  indi 
cated  can  do  it  under  the  direction  of  definite  ideas.  The  volume  thus  fills 
a  place  in  our  literature  which  is  occupied  by  no  other  work.  It  is  at  once 
a  generalized  history  of  the  Revolution,  and  a  stimulating  guide  to  the 
study  of  its  details.  —  Boston  Dully  Transcript. 

LORD.  The  Old  Roman  World:  The  Grandeur  and 
Failure  of  its  Civilization,  by  John  Lord,  LL.  D.  Sixth 
edition.  8vo,  cloth,  $3.00. 

Dr.  Lord's  widely  extended  reputation  as  a  lecturer,  is  as 
surance  of  the  point  and  popularity  of  his  writings. 

MACAULAY.  History  of  England,  by  Lord  Macanlay, 
from  the  last  edition  of  his  Works  edited  by  his  sister, 
Lady  Trevelyan.  In  eight  volumes,  crown  8vo,  with  a  new 
Portrait  of  Macaulay.  Price  ifl  extra  cloth,  $16.00;  half 
calf,  $32.00.  Student's  Edition.  In  four  volumes,  12mo, 
cloth,  $8.00  ;  half  calf,  $16.00. 

MAZZINI.  Joseph  Mazzini;  his  Life,  Writings,  and 
Political  Principles ;  chiefly  from  autobiographic  sources. 
With  an  introduction  by  William  Lloyd  Garrison.  Crown 
8vo,  with  portrait,  cloth,  $1.75. 

This  volume,  consisting  of  passages  from  the  writings  of  Mazzini  in  rela 
tion  to  his  own  part  in  the  national  movement  of  Italy  for  the  last  forty 
years,  might  properly  be  entitled  "  Mazzini  illustrated  by  himself."  It  is  a 
valuable  contribution  to  contemporary  history,  revealing  the  aspirations  and 
recounting  the  deeds  of  the  great  Agitator,  and  giving  an  authentic  record 
of  the  first  period  of  the  Italian  revolution,  of  which  he  was  the  recognized 
leader.  —  The  Nation. 


GREENE  —  RICHARDSON. 

MILLS.  The  Life  of  John  Carter,  by  Frederick  James 
Mills.  With  illustrations,  crown  8vo,  cloth,  SI. 50. 

Carter  was  an  English  weaver,  disabled  by  a  fall  in  his  twenty-first  year, 
who  lived  a  life  of  suffering  for  fourteen  years  subsequently,  and  who  yet, 
besides  exhibiting  an  heroic  Christian  fortitude,  acquired  great  skill  in 
drawing,  painting,  and  writing,  using  only  his  niouth  for  these  purposes. 
Illustrations  of  his  sketches  and  chirography  are  given.  —  Presbyterian 
Banner,  Pittsburgh. 

RICHARDSON.  The  History  of  Our  Country,  from 
its  discovery  by  Columbus  to  the  Celebration  of  the  Cen 
tennial  Anniversary  of  its  Declaration  of  Independence  : 
embracing  an  account  of  its  Discovery,  Narratives  of  the 
Struggles  of  its  Early  Settlers,  Sketches  of  its  Heroes,  the 
History  of  the  War  for  Independence  and  the  War  for 
Nationality,  its  Industrial  Victories,  and  a  Record  of  its 
whole  Progress  as  a  Nation,  by  Abby  Sage  Richardson. 
Illustrated  by  over  two  hundred  and  forty  engravings  on 
wood  of  portraits  of  distinguished  discoverers,  statesmen, 
generals,  and  heroes ;  pictures  of  public  buildings,  maps 
and  plans,  and  large  engravings  from  original  designs  by 
Granville  Perkins,  C.  G.  Bush,  and  F.  0.  C.  Darley.  An 
octavo  volume  of  600  pages,  clearly  printed  on  toned 
paper,  and  elegantly  bound.  Sold  only  by  subscription. 

The  plan  and  execution  of  the  work  seem  to  me  excellent,  with  its  clear, 
picturesque  details,  and  the  unflagging  interest  and  at  times  fascinatingly 
dramatic  action  of  a  narrative  not  too  brief  for  the  reader's  full  comprehen 
sion,  nor  so  minute  and  protracted  as  to  become  tedious.  It  is  indeed  The 
Story  of  Our  Country  told  simply,  graphically,  in  good  Saxon,  showing  a 
careful  study  of  materials  and  a  conscientious  and  judicious  use  of  them.  — 
John  G.  Whittier. 

I  have  read  many  of  the  sheets  of  your  Story  of  our  Country,  —  a  history 
of  America  or  of  the  United  States  for  young  people,  and  with  such  pleasure 
and  satisfaction  that  I  feel  as  if  I  must  be  a  young  person  myself.  It  is  a 
very  simple,  clear,  flowing  interesting  narrative,  —  not  merely  a  description 
of  events,  but  a  picture  of  life  and  persons,  which  will  be  a  very  valuable  and 
convenient  manual  for  everybody.  Its  typography  and  illustrations  are  also 
very  attractive,  and  I  congratulate  you  sincerely  upon  a  most  timely  work, 
most  admirably  done.  —  George  William  Curtis. 

This  book  is  rather  a  familiar  narrative  than  a  formal  history ;  and,  while 
constantly  keeping  in  mind  the  necessity  of  the  most  scrupulous  accuracy, 
the  author  has  endeavored  to  make  the  country's  story  so  interesting  and 
readable  as  to  approve  itself  to  the  tastes  and  capacities  of  the  young  as  well 


HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  WORKS. 

as  the  old.  The  volume  is  no  mere  juvenile  history,  however,  since  its  six 
hundred  pages  present  a  political,  martial,  and  social  record  of  our  national 
career  sufficiently  full  for  all  save  more  special  students.  Mrs.  Richardson's 
success  in  her  task  deserves  commendation  and  attention.  —  The  Independ 
ent. 

The  attempt  of  the  author  to  give  from  time  to  time  some  idea  of  the  so 
cial  life  of  the  American  people  is  greatly  to  be  commended,  and  is  an  ex 
ample  which  greater  historians  would  do  well  to  follow.  Her  pen  portraits 
of  famous  men  are  skillfully  and  faithfully  drawn.  The  temptation  to  over- 
color  certain  pictures  is  bravely  resisted.  The  civil  war  is  treated  from  the 
patriotic  stand-point  of  the  North,  although  all  fairness  is  displayed  toward 
Southern  feeling  and  Southern  men.  —  The  Christian  Union. 

TAPPAN.     Sketch  of  the  Life  of  Arthur  Tappan,  by 

Lewis  Tappan;   with  a  portrait  on    steel.     12mo,  cloth, 

$2.00. 

It  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  and  interesting  of  recent  American 
biographies,  as  giving  the  story  of  a  man  of  remarkable  worth  and  provi 
dential  character,  without  whom  the  anti-slavery  cause  in  this  country 
would  have  had  a  very  different  and  less  fortunate  history.  —  Springfield 
Republican. 

The  narrative  of  his  early  days,  and  of  the  quaint  and  rigid  manners  of 
old  Puritan  society,  as  well  as  glimpses  of  later  years,  through  the  sketches 
of  his  daughter,  are  highly  interesting.  —  New  Englander. 

TENOT.     Paris    in  December,    1851;    or,    the    Coup 
d'JZtat  of  Napoleon  III.,  by  Eugene  Tenot,  editor  of  the 
(Paris)  "  Siecle,"  and  author  of  "  La  Province  en  Dccem- 
bre,  1851."     Translated  from  the  thirteenth  French  edi 
tion,  with  many  original  notes,  by  S.  W.  Adams  and  A. 
H.  Brandon.     In  one  volume,  crown  8vo,  cloth,  $2.50. 
It  is  incomparably  the  fullest  and  most  reliable  account  of  the  great 
event  yet  offered  to  the  public.     It  abounds  with  anecdotes  and  sketches  of 
the  principal  actors  in  that  important  epoch,  which  will  be  read  with  avidity 
at  this  time,  and  will  afford  valuable  information  to  the  future  historian. 
—  N.  T.  Weekly  Express 

VOLTAIRE.  History  of  Charles  XII.  by  M.  de  Vol 
taire,  with  a  Life  of  Voltaire  by  Lord  Brougham,  and 
Critical  Notes  by  Lord  Macaulay  and  Thomas  Carlyle. 
Edited  by  O.  W.  Wight,  A.  M.  Crown  8vo,  cloth,  $2.25  ; 
half  calf,  $4.00. 

The  above  are  for  sale  by  Booksellers,  or  will  be  sent  by 
mail  postpaid,  on  receipt  of  price  by  the  Publishers. 

HURD  AND  HOUGHTON,  NEW  YORK. 
THE  RIVERSIDE  PRESS,  CAMBRIDGE,  MASS. 


STATE  NORMAL  SCIIGU 

UOS  AJlOEIlBS,  CRU. 


UCLA-Young  Research  Library 

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UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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